Little Red Wonder
by MarielleAster
Summary: Slight AU. Ginny knows she should try to forget a certain boy who lived, but that's difficult if you still live with your parents, have six older brothers and about to enter a career where you'll see him every day. HG
1. Percy the Prat

**A/N - **This story is slightly AU (for everyone out there that hasn't read the summary ;) ). Thanks so much to KD for being my beta and I apologise right now for the ending of this chapter. But chapter 2 should be out soon! Anyway, read on and let me know what you think about it...

Oh, and guys, it's called _fan_fiction . net. So if you recognise anything, it's not mine (hence the 'fan' in 'fanfiction'). And as I tend to read a lot, I think that this disclaimer shouldn't be limited to J.K. Rowling. So really, if you recognise _anything_, it's _not mine_!

* * *

  


Percy the Prat

I looked at the letter in my hand. This couldn't be happening, could it? I mean…I know I tried out. I know I had been flying in the sky with loads of other girls who also wanted to become a Chaser. Bloody hell! I even know some girls were worse than me! But what I couldn't understand was why _I_ was the one with a letter in my hand. Perhaps I didn't understand Gwenog Jones when she told us that only the best would receive an owl within a week to return for a next tryout. I swallowed hard and turned the letter again to take a better look at the address. _Ginevra Weasley._ Yep, definitely me. _The Burrow._ Last time I checked, I still lived there…perhaps I should move out? Well, that could wait… _Ottery St. Catchpole._ Yeah…that hadn't changed during the months since Easter, had it?

I took a deep breath and opened the letter carefully. It was now or never.

_Dear Miss Weasley,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen for the second round of Chaser tryouts. We will be expecting you on Sunday the 22nd of August at noon. _

_If there is a problem, please inform us, but we will be holding the try-outs at this moment. If you are not able to attend, we will be obliged to pull you out of try-outs. You could of course try again next year._

_Yours truly,_

_S.J.R. Abbey_

_Sara Abbey, manager of the Holyhead Harpies _

Right…so I only had to be at the tryouts on the 22nd. That shouldn't be…bugger!

Bugger, bugger, bugger!

Percy's birthday was on the 22nd! And even if he had been a stupid, idiotic prat for the last couple of years, he had apologized now. I owed it to him (and Mum…) to show up on his first birthday he'd spent with his family since ages.

Bugger, bugger, bugger!

I couldn't ask Mum to help me go to the tryouts; she would be furious! I hadn't told her yet that I wanted to play Quidditch (she still thought I had applied for Healer training). To be honest, I hadn't told _anybody_ yet because I didn't reckon I had a chance. Come on, I was fresh out of Hogwarts! My only experience was playing with the Gryffindor team for four years! And one of those years wasn't even as a Chaser!

The main reason I did this was because I really wanted to get over Harry once and forever. And with Healer training, I would be in the same building as the Auror training he would attend. The last time I gave up on him, it didn't really work because I still saw him every day. Being the best mate of my brother does that to people.

But then I got used to the idea of being a professional Chaser. And being up there, all day, in the sky, suddenly seemed perfect. Like it was the only right career choice.

And I was hoping like hell that I would get through the try-outs.

* * *

Percy was reading in the garden while Mum kept running in and out of the kitchen to make all of the last arrangements, finishing the cake and such stupid things. Well, she wasn't really to blame…she loves large families and the whole Percy-being-a-stupid-prat-situation had deprived her of that for four years. 

I bit my lip and went to the broom shed. My broom was still there. But the party would start at two o'clock and even with all the magic in the world I wouldn't be able to be both at the party as well as at the tryouts.

"Something is bothering you," I heard Percy say from his chair. I had been walking around in the garden, which I always did when something bothered me.

I bit my lip again and looked at him. He had closed his book and was looking back at me. "I know I've been a prat," he sighed, "Fred and George were quite clear about that. But I'm also still your brother. The brother you could talk to when you were little."

Right. He was right. As always.

"You're going to hate me," I said softly.

"Try me," he said and for the first time in my life he really looked like my brother. That sentence was something Fred would have said. Or Bill. Even Ron, but not Percy.

So I did the only thing possible. "I have Quidditch tryouts at noon," I blurted out and as soon as it had left my mouth, I slapped my hand against it, "I'm so sorry, I don't want to ruin your party, but I got this letter which said that today would be my only chance to be allowed to the Harpies and I have been selected out of hundreds of other girls to reappear today and I really really really want to go, but this is the first party in ages for you and I can't do that to you. I just can't."

"Why do they have tryouts on a Sunday?" Percy asked, a little bemused. "Well, it doesn't matter, because you _can_ go."

I looked at him like he had grown three heads.

"You love to fly, Ginny," Percy continued, "Just go. I'll figure something out to tell them. By the way, it's my party. So if I say you can go, just go. Merlin, I'm only turning 23!"

Bugger, I was running out of excuses. "But…but…" I spluttered, "I missed your 19th and your 20th and your 21st and your 22nd and now this one!"

"Well, then you just have to give me the best present by becoming a Holyhead Chaser."

"But…but…Mum will be fuming!"

He only looked at his watch, "It's eleven thirty, Ginny. I would hurry if I were you. And knowing Mum there will be entirely too many people at this party, so nobody will miss you."

I should have been outraged by this comment, but now I couldn't think of anything else but throwing my arms around his neck. "I already prepared all my stuff. Thanks Perce!"

"Percy," he grinned as he let me go. Suddenly feeling overly happy, I ran towards the broom shed, grabbed my broom and my Quidditch outfit and apparated to the Quidditch pitch.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who is late," a petite girl with long dark brown hair said near the entrance of the locker rooms.

"Late?" I groaned.

"Didn't you get the note?" she asked, "We had to be at the pitch at eleven thirty."

"No!" My eyes widened and I grabbed my letter out of my pocket, "No, no, no," I said while reading, "Look, it says here that Chasers are expected at noon."

"You're a Chaser," the girl said understanding, "I'm Tamar Romeijn, Seeker."

"Ginny Weasley, Chaser…or at least, I hope so…"

"Of course you are," Tamar smiled, "They only asked two or three back to see how we work with the resident players. The ones that don't get chosen now, will be reserves. But I really have to run now, seeing as I'm the only Seeker who is late."

I followed her to the locker rooms and saw three other girls sitting there. Right, these were my rivals.

"Chaser or Seeker?" a girl with almost white hair asked.

"Seeker," Tamar said while changing out of her day robes into her Quidditch robes.

"Chaser," I said.

"Right," the girl looked at a notice board, "I suppose you're Tamar Romeijn? You should hurry; the other girl is already out there. And then you are…?"

"Ginny Weasley," I said while dropping my bag on a bench.

She looked up, "You can fly."

"Er…thanks, I guess." I said confused. Another girl was looking at me with a venomous glare. No…these were my rivals indeed.

"Well, we're only waiting for the last Chaser," the blonde girl said to a woman in professional work robes. Probably this Sara Abbey person.

I hate waiting.


	2. Not the most usual thing in the world

It's called _fan_fiction . net. So if you recognise anything, it's not mine (hence the 'fan' in 'fanfiction'). And as I tend to read a lot, I think that this disclaimer shouldn't be limited to J.K. Rowling. So really, if you recognise _anything_, it's _not mine_!

And thanks KD, for pointing out that I really couldn't end this chapter as I had planned to do.

* * *

Not the most usual thing in the world

As if I was on a Felix Felicis high, I Apparated back into our garden. The party was full on, but I couldn't think of anything else save my acceptance. I was the new Chaser! The other two girls, Julie and Lynette were reserves and Tamar was the new Seeker. The other girl (Clara Robbins, stupid cow) had flown straight into a goalpost while trying to catch the Snitch. I've never seen Gwenog Jones laugh so hard.

The first thing I saw once I'd arrived in the middle of the guests was Ron racing towards me, yelling, "You'll never guess!"

Merlin's beard, what now?

"Harry is the new Cannons' Seeker!" Ron yelled, twirling me around so hard I thought he would send me flying.

Why…why…why wasn't Harry going into Auror training? Why Quidditch? He should be too busy with Auror training so I could ignore him most of the time and only be friendly with him when he would come over for dinner. That was the only way to get rid of that stupid infatuation I've had ever since he stood up to Umbridge. Don't know why it was that particular moment which made me realize I had gotten over my crush on him. I remember telling Hermione about my 'giving up on Harry' a few weeks before I realized it was true…only to find out that I had fallen in love. No wonder I wasn't that sad when Michael broke up with me to run into the arms of the most wonderful Cho Chang.

Revenge was so sweet when I caught the Snitch right from under her nose.

Twice.

Harry didn't notice anything. No, he was too busy with Voldemort and Horcruxes to see me as anything but his _best mate's little bloody sister_. But that was all in the past. He was my brother's best mate, so I would become mates with him too. So why was Ron telling me that Harry would be playing Quidditch with the Cannons?

"Why?" was all I could ask. Past Ron's head, I saw Percy smiling apologetically.

"Because he tried out," Ron said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which, now that I think about it, it probably was.

"But he was supposed to be an Auror," I said, shocked.

"Have you seen him fly?" Ron asked incredulously.

"But he can't!" I said, "I'm playing Quidditch!"

"What?" He hadn't even paid attention to what I'd said!

"The Holyhead Harpies just accepted me as their new Chaser," I said.

"Come on, Ginny," he said playfully, "That's not funny."

"No, I'm the new Harpies' Chaser," I said, glaring at him for not believing me.

"You did it!" Percy enveloped me in a hug, "Now that's what I call a great birthday present. When is your first game? Do you have your new robes?"

"And people say you don't like Quidditch," I said, shaking my head.

"I do," he said indignantly, "At least I do when my favourite sister plays…Ronald, close your mouth. It looks horrible."

Ron looked at him and then turned to me. "Since when do you want to play Quidditch? You were always going on and on about Healer training. You said you could help people that way."

I glared at him. "I _can_ play Quidditch, you know."

Typical Ron for thinking I can't play Quidditch. The fact that his little sister had been accepted by one of the best teams of the League _straight out of Hogwarts_ meant of course, nothing. The Cannons accepted just about _everybody_! They were soooo bad.

"Well, good luck," he managed to say at last, "You're going to need that when you're playing against Harry."

"He's flying for the Cannons!" I shouted incredulously at Ron.

"Who are going to win the League," he stated simply.

"They may have a bloody -"

"GINNY! Language!" Mum shouted out of the kitchen. I swear, having six older brothers is disastrous!

So I gritted my teeth and continued, "Well, they may have a fantastic _Seeker_, but we have fantastic Chasers, Beaters and a Keeper!

"But the Seeker wins the match," Ron said and he stuck his head around the corner of the kitchen, "When are we going to eat, Mum?"

* * *

The following weeks were hell. Mum was furious with me for trying out behind her back.

"Do you know how dangerous it can be up there?" she started for the umpteenth time at breakfast while I was racing in and out of the kitchen to get ready for practice.

"I know, Mum," I sighed while trying to figure out where I last left my wand, "You said so yesterday and the day before and the day before and so on…" Oh, in the cooking utensils pot! Got it! "I'll die a horrible death because I can't fly and that's why they chose _me_ out of hundreds of girls even if I lack the experience they've got. Now I have to run or I'll be late for practice. Tell Ron he's a stupid prat, will you?"

"Ginevra!" Mum exclaimed, "He's your brother!"

"Doesn't make him less of a prat," I muttered while Apparating to the pitch. Steaming with anger I entered the locker rooms and started changing.

"What's bothering you?" Evy Vandermark, the girl with the practically white hair said. Together with Natalie Eads, we were the three Chasers. Then there were of course Gwenog Jones and Meredith Cadwallader, simply the best Beaters ever seen. Oh…I reckon the twins earn that title. But still, they chose their jokes over the wonders of Quidditch, so I suppose it's their loss. Rachel Hodges has been a Harpies' Keeper for quite some time now, so Tamar and I were the only new players on the team.

Oh, right, I was talking to Evy…

"My mother," I sighed, "I still live at home."

"Oh, that bad?" Evy said sympathetically.

"I wish," I sighed and rolled my eyes, "But I've got six older brothers and one of them also still lives at home. He still thinks I'm three years old and the fact that he's a fervent Cannons supporter doesn't really help either. Oh, and his best mate just got appointed Seeker there."

"Seeker for the Cannons?" Gwenog piped up, "Isn't that Harry Potter?"

"The _bloody_ boy who lived," I muttered darkly, "Plays too well to be compared to. Has only missed one catch in his entire life. And that was because of Dementors."

"You know Harry Potter?" Evy said incredulously. It just dawned upon me that it wasn't the most usual thing in the world to know Harry Potter. On the contrary, it was actually rather special to know him. Hmm, better not tell anybody about that stupid crush I hav- had…

"Yeah," I said casually, "My brother's best mate. They were one year above me in Gryffindor."

"Harry Potter," Gwenog said, "I do remember Horace Slughorn telling me about him at one of his parties a couple of years ago."

"That's right!" I exclaimed, glad for the change of subject, "You were in the Slug Club!"

"You must have known Horace if you've been at Hogwarts with Harry," Gwenog nodded.

"Professor Slughorn seemed quite fond of my Bat-Bogey Hex," I grinned, "He made me part of the Slug Club when I was on the train ride towards Hogwarts for my fifth year."

"I've never seen you at his parties," Gwenog said pensively.

I grinned even more broadly. "I was on the Gryffindor team with Harry as captain. He hates publicity, especially publicity directed towards the fact that he lived. So he planned practices at the same time as the meetings. My friend Hermione mentioned that she met you though."

* * *

Practice was not _that_ terrible. Never mind, scratch that. I was totally exhausted when I stumbled into the locker rooms.

"I'm going to die tomorrow," Tamar muttered next to me.

"Don't let Gwenog hear you say that," I said softly, "She might throw you off the team and put…what was her name again? That girl that flew straight into the goal post?"

Tamar chuckled. "Hey, you're still living with your parents, right?" she asked while wrestling with her robes to get them off.

"Yeah…" I said, "Why d'you ask?"

"Because I'm looking for a roommate."


	3. So why did you break up with him?

**A/N:** I've put a disclaimer is the last two chapters and it applies to the whole story.

* * *

So why did you break up with him?

"You live here?" I said in awe as we Apparated near the Leaky Cauldron.

"Well, it's two streets further, but this is the safest apparition point in the vicinity," she said.

"You're joking, right?"

"Why?"

"Because this is the most wanted place to live in wizarding England! In the middle of London and right next to Diagon Alley…how did you manage that?"

"There was this old witch who wanted to get rid of the place and she knew a friend of a friend of a cousin of an uncle of my mother."

I stared at her.

"I really had to live somewhere in England, so I wasn't all that picky. I couldn't possibly Apparate everyday from the International Apparition Point in The Hague, now could I?"

"You're not English?" I asked, surprised. She had no accent! Well, maybe a somewhat American one, if I had to pick. Mixed with some hints of Fleur's accent when she spoke certain words…maybe.

"I'm Dutch…I thought you knew," she said, shrugging as she led the way.

"Is it true you still wear wooden shoes?" I blurted out. Dad had known a Dutch wizard who had come over a few times. I always used to play with his wooden shoes. I loved them! Fred and George thought it was terribly funny and even now I _still_ find a wooden shoe in between my clothes, books, bloody Christmas presents_…_You would think they'd grown tired of that by now, wouldn't you? But no, they reckon it'll keep me warm in the winter.

Tammy, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes and opened the door. "I'm not even going to answer that question. Well, this is the living room. It's quite messy, but I kept a room empty for my roommate. Less moving, you know. And I'd thought we would've had a weekend off to settle down and stuff, but no such luck."

All right, it might have been messy, but nothing a little cleanup couldn't fix. Especially when you're used to a house filled with boys. "It's ok," I said, "Where's everything else?"

"Oh right," she jumped over a large box, "Well, this is the kitchen with a little balcony to enjoy the sun…if we had the time, anyway. Then at the other side of the living room there's a hallway with the bathroom and two bedrooms. It's not big, but large enough."

"It's bloody brilliant," I said, "When can I move in?"

"Whenever you're ready," Tamar laughed, "But you must have loads of stuff to pack!"

"No, I don't," I grinned even though I knew Mum would beg to differ. "Can I use the Floo to move everything over?"

"Sure, I might be taking a shower, but this is your place too now. Just hop over."

I was grinning too broadly when I Apparated into the kitchen of the Burrow. I would be moving out!

Unfortunately, Mum already was preparing dinner and the first thing I heard was, "You're late."

"I've found a place to live," I grinned as I gave her a quick kiss on her cheek.

She turned immediately, "What? But you just left Hogwarts! Shouldn't you be staying for a few more months? Years maybe?"

"I have a job, Mum, it's only a matter of time before I move out of the house."

"I know, but couldn't it be a bit later? Ron still lives here."

I rolled my eyes, "Ron is still waiting for Hermione to tie the knot and ask him to move in with her."

"He will do no such thing!" Mum said, determined. "They will not live together without being married."

Sure Mum, and I don't have a crush on Harry. Wait, I don't! I really, really don't! Don't look at me like that. I _don't_!

"I have a roommate," I decided to take a different approach, "Tamar, from my team. She just came here from the Netherlands and has nobody here." Ha! That should do the trick. Mum loves taking care of lonely people and making them a part of her family. Look at Harry! "And I'll come over as often as possible. I will miss you…"

"I will miss you too," she said, bringing me to her in a teary hug. 'Very emotional' would be perfect to describe my mother. "You're just growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday you were playing with the dolls we used to make and now you're a professional Quidditch player! And straight out of Hogwarts too! Have I ever told you that I'm proud of you?"

"No, you were too busy berating me," I smiled.

"I tend to do that a lot," Mum smiled. Her eyes still showed some sign of tears. "Now, when will you be leaving?"

"Whenever I want. I was thinking of moving everything tonight and tomorrow."

If she was sad that I would be leaving so fast, she didn't show it. "Ron and Harry are at the paddock playing Quidditch. You should ask them to help you move your things. Dinner won't be ready for at least two hours."

I kept myself from asking why on earth Harry would be playing Quidditch after a day of Seeker practice and went into the garden to find them. That turned out to be quite easy as they were tossing an apple over and over. Ron seemed better at it than Harry, but then again, Ron was used to catching the Quaffle as a Keeper. Harry, on the other hand, had a huge advantage when snatching little flying balls out of the air.

I stood there for a while until Harry missed the apple (which actually happened quite fast) and it went straight to the ground. Right towards where I stood. So I caught it and looked up.

"Throw it back, Ginny!" Ron yelled.

"Mum needs you!" I shouted back, "Both of you!"

"What for?" Ron yelled again.

"Come down and I'll tell you," I shouted once again. My throat began to hurt.

Ron and Harry looked at each other and came flying towards me. Harry was flying at top speed and stopped just a few inches in front of me. Show off! I may have a stupid infatuation with him, but I would _not_ let myself fawn all over him.

"What does Mum want?" Ron sighed.

"You, _both of you_, have to help me move out," I smirked.

"I can't," Ron said immediately, "I've got to go to work."

"I'll help," Harry said. He looked a bit exasperated about Ron's words, but in an amused sort of way.

I looked at him and then turned towards Ron, "Since when do you work?"

"Since today," he said haughtily, "So if you'll excuse me." He turned to leave.

"What's his problem?" I asked Harry.

"You," Harry grinned, "You're more successful than he is. You got to play Quidditch and he still has to go to Auror training. Oh, and Hermione still won't let him live with her."

I laughed, "It's not as if Mum would let him. So…ickle Ronniekins's got a job, eh?"

Harry burst out laughing, "If you count hours and hours of being bullied around by people like Mad-Eye Moody as work." He stood still as if trying to remember something. "Blimey, that is work!"

I snorted and walked into the house. Mum was humming a tune under her breath and waved at us as if to acknowledge our presence. "You don't have to do this, Harry," I said finally.

"You just had practice, I know how beaten up you can get."

"Speaking of which, why on earth do you play Quidditch after a day of practice?"

"I haven't had practice," Harry grinned, "This was my day off."

"Why on earth do you play Quidditch on your day off?"

Harry grinned, shrugging. "So how's practice so far?"

"Okay, I guess," I said as we started climbing the stairs to my room.

"Don't sound too enthusiastic!"

I laughed, "I don't know! I'm the youngest on the team and Evy and Natalie, the other Chasers, play fantastically together and Natalie is almost twice my age and a mother…" I sighed and started to shrink my pillows. "It's really great to fly and Tamar…she's new too, she's the Seeker…she's asked me to come live with her because she needed a new roommate. So I don't know. I love it, but I can't understand why they chose me as their new Chaser."

"I know why," Harry said, while putting some shrunken items in a box, "You're a great player, Ginny. Wouldn't have had you on the team otherwise."

"And here I was, thinking it was my ravishing good looks that got me on the team," I sighed.

He chuckled, "Yeah, well, besides the _obvious_ reasons, you fly well."

We weren't flirting, were we? No, that couldn't be…

But it didn't really matter if we were or weren't, because as I looked up I saw that we had packed everything. I really don't have that much stuff! I could floo over to Tamar's and move everything…

"So…where are you moving to?" Harry asked conversationally.

"London," I said, putting a Levitation charm on my trunk to move it downstairs. I heard Harry doing the same thing to the rest of my stuff. I must say, Mum trained him well, he knew exactly what to do.

"Wicked," he said and it took me a while before I remembered what I had said before. Oh yes, I'm moving to London. "Where in London?" he asked.

"Near Diagon Alley," I said, looking around for the Floo powder. We couldn't be out of it, right?

"Diagon Alley?" he said in awe, "That's…wow! Who'd you have to kill?"

"A very rich old witch," I said with a glint in my eye. I had finally found the Floo powder and threw a handful in the fireplace, "I'll go first. The address is 37, Greek Street, London."

He looked very uncomfortable.

"You're going to be fine, Harry," I said while patting his arm. Seriously, how that boy has managed to get rid of Voldemort and still be afraid of a little Floo is a mystery to me! I pulled my trunk into the fireplace and said the address clearly. A few moments later Tamar's fireplace spit me out into her living room.

"You're quick!" Tamar said cheerfully from the couch.

"I wanted to get out of the house," I grinned, "Ouch!" Something heavy just landed on my back, "Blimey Harry!" I shouted.

"Ouch! Ginny!" Harry said, "You know I'm terrible with the Floo! And you could have warned me about the mess."

I crawled up from the floor and tried to get the soot off me when I heard Tamar say, "You're a friend of Ginny's?"

"Harry," Harry said nervously. His hand went up to his hair to flatten it over his scar.

I rolled my eyes. This boy has serious issues! "He's my brother's best mate. He's the Cannons' Seeker, so you'll be seeing him a lot. He's terrible, though." I added as an afterthought.

"Hey!" Harry said indignantly.

"You can't even travel with the Floo," I smirked, then turned to Tamar. "He's helping me move. Oh…Harry, this is Tamar."

"It's TAH-mahr," Tamar corrected, "Not Tuh-MAHR."

"Tah…wha-?" I asked her confused. I could hear Harry snigger, but ignored him.

"Never mind," she sighed, "Just call me Tammy. _Britten en hun accent…_"

I looked at Harry and saw my own very confused look mirrored on his face. "So…" I said finally, "Could you show me my room?"

"Sure," she said, jumping up. "So, Ginny's told me you're a Seeker, Harry?"

"Yeah, I played for Gryffindor since my first year," he nodded.

"Gryffindor being the brave house of Hogwarts, right?" Tammy asked me. Right…she's Dutch! She doesn't know anything about Hogwarts…wait, where did she attend school?

"You don't have a magic school in the Netherlands, do you?" I asked.

"You're Dutch!" Harry suddenly sounded a lot more cheerful. Did I mention he's got issues?

"Yeah…" Tammy said dreamily. I started putting everything back to normal. "No, there isn't a magic school in the Netherlands. I went to Beauxbatons."

"Do you know Fleur Delacour?" Harry said, interested. Figures he wants to know everything about _Phlegm_…

"She came here for the Triwizard Tournament," Tammy nodded, "She was in my year, but I didn't come to England for the Tournament. If I'm correct, she's married now…she invited me, but I couldn't make it."

I scrunched up my nose, but didn't say anything. I liked Phlegm a little bit more since she married Bill, but it still was ridiculous that everybody fawned over her.

"She's Ginny's sister-in-law," Harry smirked as he looked at me.

"Really?" Tammy said surprised, "You never told me!"

"I'm a Weasley," I said slowly, "How many Weasleys do you know?"

"A lot," Harry grinned. The stupid thing was that it was true.

"Oh shut up!" I threw a pillow at him, "I reckon I've had enough help."

"And we start early tomorrow," Tammy sighed, "And we have to eat."

"Would you like to come home with me?" I asked her. She didn't know anybody here and we would be living together shortly. Plus, she did know Fleur…oh wait, would Bill even be at dinner today? "You can have dinner with us. My mother wouldn't mind, would she, Harry?"

"Not likely," Harry snorted.

"So? What do you say?" I asked Tammy.

* * *

"…so then Ginny comes downstairs," Ron was telling the _wonderful_ story of Bill and Fleur's wedding which consisted of me tripping down the stairs because of my very long dress… "And trips over her dress!" Yes, Ronald, we _know_! "You should have heard her shouting… I've never seen anything like that." 

"And all this time I was thinking you were this sweet, innocent girl," Tammy laughed. "Oh well, I guess I understand now why you've become a Chaser."

"You should have seen her Seek," Harry grinned. It's a miracle how fast he can open up to people that don't have a clue who he is. "I'm glad she didn't try out for Seeker the year after, because that would have meant I couldn't play Quidditch anymore."

"You played Seeker?" Tammy turned to me, interested.

"Yeah…" I spoke for probably the first time that evening, "In my fourth year. Only for a few matches, though."

"I was banned from playing Quidditch ever again," Harry explained, "Ginny took my place."

"You do realize that you became Captain the year after," I said to Harry, "So even if I had wanted to Seek, I couldn't, because that would mean we wouldn't have had a Captain."

From the other side of the table, Hermione was smiling at me.

"And even if I had, I couldn't have stood in the way of the great Harry Potter and his place on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," I said sweetly.

"Ginny…" Mum started, but I could hear in her voice that she didn't mean it.

"So you were popular?" Tammy said as she laughed to Harry.

Everybody at the table fell silent and stared at her, except me. Although she went to Beauxbatons and was some kind of friend of Fleur…the true identity of Harry remained a mystery to her.

"Er…" I said, "It's getting late…Mum, I'm going home with Tammy. I'd like to sleep in my new house. And all my stuff has been moved out, so it's physically impossible to sleep here." I looked at my mother pleadingly.

"Will you drop by tomorrow?" she asked, a little confused.

"Sure," I dropped a kiss on her cheek, hugged my Dad and said goodbye to the rest. "Come on, Tammy, we'll Floo."

"What was that?" Tammy asked bewildered at home.

"You _do_ know Voldemort, right?" I asked.

"Of course," Tammy said, a little indignant. I shouldn't blame her, she probably felt like I treated her as a six-year old. Which I kind of did…

"Yes, of course," I said a little bemused, "Of course you know him. Well, Harry vanquished him."

"Harry," she said, taking it all in. Oh my, I didn't know you could look _that_ confused!

"Yes…" I started and then the whole story came out. I told her all about everything I knew (which was quite a lot). I told her how he had thrown Voldemort off power when he was only a year old. How he managed to save the Philosopher's Stone. How he rescued my life in the Chamber. How he rescued his godfather. How he became the Triwizard Champion…

"Oh, he's _that_ Harry! Harry _Potter_!" she said, suddenly understanding everything. But I still continued with the story of the DA. I told her about the Department of Mysteries. How Sirius died. I told her about the Horcruxes. I told her about when Dumbledore died. I told her Harry, Ron and Hermione never came back to Hogwarts so they could vanquish Voldemort. And I told her how they succeeded.

"I guess he is very famous," she mumbled. Well, that's the understatement of the century!

I nodded my head, "But don't act differently around him," I pleaded, "He hates people who only like him because of his scar."

"It's not like I know him better or something," Tammy smiled.

"Good, because he's a friend of mine and I wouldn't like it if my roommate was fawning all over him," I scolded grinning.

"Can I get to know him better and then fawn all over him?" she asked with twinkling eyes.

No…no…no…no…no…no…no…no…no…no…no…no! My mind was screaming. But my mouth said something else. Something I would dearly regret later, "Um…I s'pose…"

"He's just ruggedly handsome," she sighed. Even though that was very much true, my mind kept screaming 'NO!' very loudly.

"You're not going to hurt him, right?" I said suspiciously, "Because he's had too many people he loved dying on him. Or doing something equally disappointing."

"So why did you break up with him?" she asked knowingly.

I swear: I heard my jaw drop on the floor. I reckon the _neighbours_ heard my jaw drop on the floor. And Tammy definitely _saw my jaw drop on the floor_. I just stood there for a couple of minutes and stared at her. She didn't say what I just thought she'd said, did she? Wait…she did…

"I don't know what you're talking about," I managed to choke out after a very long ten minutes.

"Sure, Ginny," Tammy smirked.

"No, seriously," I explained, "Harry and I never went out. Never."

"Why?" she wondered.

"Perhaps because we're just mates?" I said slowly.

"Sure," she said standing up, "I'm going to sleep. We have to get up early…"

I just stood there, too shocked to think about anything else. She didn't really think I had some kind of feelings for Harry, right? Because I didn't. Don't. Haven't…you know what I mean.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that was quite a long chapter... I want to thank KD once again for betaing this. Her comments helped a lot. 

Well, review! (I love your reviews, but I will post anyway...still, let me know what you think! It might be useful.)


	4. Luna?

**A/N: **Usual disclaimer applies!

* * *

  


Luna?

You know, Dutch people have the most peculiar habits, especially for breakfast. When I got into the kitchen the next morning, a jar filled with little brown thingies was standing on top of the table. I eyed it suspiciously and tried to look around for something more…_normal_, like bacon and sausages and eggs. That wasn't too much to ask, now was it? Unfortunately I couldn't find anything of the like and I took the jar from the table. What in the name of Merlin was this?

"I see you've found my Chocolate Ants." Tammy entered the kitchen. I couldn't have dropped the jar sooner had she said it contained Doxy Droppings.

She chuckled. "It's just chocolate, you know." She buttered a piece of bread, opened the jar and poured a couple of scoops of the Ants on it. Instantly they started to crawl all over the place and I decided it was a very good plan to recoil from the table.

She chuckled again and started cutting the slice in nine equal pieces with her knife and fork. "The plates are charmed so they can't get off them." She lifted a piece and shoved it very quickly in her mouth. "It's blissfully good."

I eyed her warily. She couldn't be speaking the truth. There was no way that creepy crawling insects could be good, even if they were made out of chocolate.

"You want to taste a bit?" she asked with her mouth full.

"No…" I said slowly, "I'll stick to the very dead and therefore not moving bacon and eggs."

"Your loss," she shrugged and continued eating, "But I have to tell you I don't have any bacon or eggs."

Bugger!

She smirked at the look on my face. "I do, however, have a bowl of oats so you can make porridge."

"Perfect," I said and I started rummaging around in the cupboards to find everything I would need to make some _decent_ breakfast.

"Here," Tammy summoned a saucepan, some milk and the oats. Mum would have been proud of her because everything landed nicely on the stove, ready to be prepared. I only had to stir and eat it.

"So why did you go to Beauxbatons?" I asked after a moment. I had been meaning to ask her before, but I never got the chance with her trying to convince me I'd had a torrid relationship with Harry.

"Why not?" she shrugged, "I've got some family in France, so I knew the language already and I was familiar with the country."

"Family?"

"Yeah…" She scrunched up her nose and suddenly reminded me very much of Tonks. "The aunt of a brother of a nephew of the girlfriend of the granddaughter…don't ask, you don't want to know…of the great-uncle of my mother. I went there every other holiday."

And I thought _I_ had a large family…or a confusing one, for that matter. Seriously, have you ever met the twins?

"Right…well…But why not Hogwarts? That's got to be closer…"

"Not really. What with it being in Scotland, you know."

"And you didn't join the Triwizard group?"

"I'm good at Quidditch, not at all at spells and stuff…well except some cooking and household spells. But still, I had no use of coming here, so I stayed in France."

We ate in silence until Tammy suddenly said, "They also have Chocolate Platelhyminthes."

I nearly threw up the little of my breakfast that had managed to enter my body. That's just disgusting!

* * *

The week went by rapidly, and Tammy and I managed to find a rhythm that we were both comfortable with. She did the morning tasks (I convinced her to lay off the Chocolate Creepy Crawlers) and I did the evening tasks, while we left the cleaning for the one that was most up to it. Simple, but effective…well, maybe not so effective…but as Tammy had already so eloquently put it, she had a knack for household spells.

Practice still was hell, but at least we survived. Gwenog found everything very amusing. Every day she tried to convince us that it wasn't that bad, that coach Morris would get better as the year continued. That everything would be easier once the season had started.

For some reason, Tammy and I didn't really believe her.

It was after one of those tiring weeks that I Apparated to the Burrow for one of my mother's famous family dinners only to find Luna staring at the sky in the garden.

"Luna?" I asked in amazement. What in the name of Merlin's beard was she doing here?

"Hello Ginny," she said in her eternal dreamy voice without looking away. "Harry asked me to come with him."

"Why?" I asked her.

She turned around and smiled. "You look nice, Ginny. Did you change your hair?"

Why did she always do that? Not really answering questions until the last moment and even then she avoided them a little.

"Um…no," I said hesitantly, "But what are you doing at a Weasley _family_ dinner?" Wait…no…it couldn't be…could it?

"Harry invited me," she repeated as if it was the most normal thing in the world, then turned back to stare at the sky.

No…he didn't! But that would mean…

"Luna!" I heard the _dulcet_ tones of Harry's voice call from the house. "Oh…Ginny!"

"Harry," I acknowledged him. He didn't deserve to be greeted. Not when he had kept it from me that he was seeing Luna.

"You should have your broom checked out," Luna said without even looking at Harry. "It could be infected with Tillydrigs. They like to fly on brooms."

Next to me, I heard him chuckle. Well, I suppose if he was happy, I could be happy for him…still, he should have told me sooner.

"I checked Harry's weeks ago," she continued, dreamy as ever.

I turned to Harry, glaring. Weeks ago? How long was he keeping things from me?

"A month," Harry muttered almost inaudibly.

"A month!" I hissed outraged. But before I could continue, Luna said…

"Have you ever had problems with the Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"

WHAT?

* * *

I know she's one of my best friends, but with every passing moment I started to dislike her a little bit more. She and Harry were so…argh! I don't know! Couple-like, I guess. Which was totally justified seeing the fact that they were a couple, but still…

So I did my best to look as if I was happy for them, though I must admit that it was really hard. Even Harry the Dense must have noticed something, because he kept shooting apologetic glances at me.

After dinner I went to the back of the garden, to the pond, to enjoy the last moments of summer. It used to be some kind of tradition that in the last week of September or the first week of October, we Weasley children would go to the pond and swim. According to the stories I've been told countless times, Mum and Dad went mad with Bill, Charlie and Percy running around them all the time and convicted them to go swimming so Mum and Dad could have a few moments of peace. Once the twins were born, Charlie and Percy came up with this idea that every year after summer, all the Weasley brothers would meet at the pond for one last dive. Their joy increased as Ron came and when Mum got pregnant one more time, they were anticipating the arrival of their youngest brother…only to get disappointed when their little brother turned out to be a girl.

They refused to let me join in on their swims (not that Mum would have allowed them seeing as I was a newborn at that time) and kept up with it until Bill went to Hogwarts. The first memory I've got is of Charlie and Bill shouting in the garden that Bill couldn't possibly leave for Hogwarts and miss The Swim, as Ron had dubbed it. Charlie started yelling that they needed six Weasleys and that Bill would ruin everything if he left. This produced a large smirk on Bills face. "Ah, but you have a sixth Weasley, haven't you?" he said and he pointed at me before going upstairs and finishing packing.

And at that moment, the most amazing words left Charlie's mouth, "Looks like I'm going to teach you how to swim." Without asking Mum for permission, he grabbed my hand and took me to the pond where I got my first swimming lesson ever. Charlie turned out to be a remarkably patient teacher…and a stubborn one too. Once Mum found out what he was doing (and that was very soon), she got quite…mad. But Charlie simply crossed his arms, looked at her with a perfect Weasley glare and said, "How is she otherwise going to take The Swim?"

"She's two, Charlie!" Mum exclaimed furiously, "She can't swim! And if she were to learn, it would be supervised, just like you and your brothers learned."

"Doesn't matter," Charlie shrugged, still glaring, "She _can_ swim."

I thought Mum was really silly for thinking I couldn't swim, so I tugged her sleeve and said (well, babbled), "Ginny swims!" and took her to the pond to show her. I jumped in the water and started to swim…if you can call moving your arms and legs in a very uncoordinated way, swimming. Still, I wasn't drowning and Charlie looked at Mum with a very smug expression on his face.

"You are going to de-gnome the garden tomorrow, Charlie!" Mum fumed, "And Ginny will keep you company. Both of you are not allowed to swim this summer without my consent and supervision. Is that understood?"

"Yes Mum." Charlie didn't look that smug anymore.

The year after, I had my first Swim…with the supervision of Mum, of course. Over the years, she hasn't really decided if she should be glad for an extra day of freedom or worried because her children were swimming in the fall. Needless to say, we always got several Heating Charms casted upon us.

The moment we all attended Hogwarts broke this tradition, as the summer usually didn't end in August. But still, every year on the last day at the Burrow before going to Hogwarts, I came here after dinner and sat down on the pier. Sometimes I would be alone, but most of the time, somebody saw me leave and decided to keep me company. And this year was not different. I suddenly heard steps behind me…I didn't have to turn around to know it was Harry.

"Hey Gin," he said softly as he sat down next to me. He was the only one who called me Gin (according to my brothers because he's the only one who gets away with it, but that's so not true! They're just afraid I'll hex them…ah…could be the perfect thing to bring Harry back to earth…).

" 'Sup Harry?" I asked, moving my feet through the water.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner about me and Luna, but I didn't really have time and when I thought about telling you, you weren't near. And I really didn't want to tell you by owl."

I chuckled a little at the fact that he seemed to think he had to apologize to me. Okay…he should, but it still was funny. "I reckon I would've been quite mad if you'd written a letter, finishing it with: '_Oh, and by the way, Luna says 'hi'. We're seeing each other if you were wondering'_."

"You look a lot like your mother with these sort of things," Harry agreed.

"It's okay," I looked at him as I patted his arm, "She makes you happy and you deserve to be happy. Just don't hurt her, she's my friend."

"And what if she hurts me?" he asked with feigned hurt in his voice, "Am I not your friend?"

"No," I said before I could stop myself. Er…

This time he really looked hurt and I couldn't help but laugh, "Oh Harry! Luna couldn't hurt a fly! She probably would think it'd be a Nargle or something."

He fell on his back in the grass, laughing, "She makes me laugh. Thanks, Ginny, for being okay with this."

"Oh, you'll never know," I said with a twinkle in my eye, "I might always rub it in by exchanging positions with Tammy and catching the Snitch right from under your nose. I'm pretty good at that."

"Good thing we don't play against each other until April," Harry smirked, "You could use the practice."

I slapped his arm playfully. I _knew_ he would be going home with Luna. I _knew_ he only saw me as a friend. But at that particular moment (though I would never admit it) I just wanted to forget everything and pretend it was _me_ he would be going home with.

* * *

**A/N:** Once again, I have to thank KD for betaing this. Her comments helped, as they always do. Oh, and review, I love getting them.  



	5. Tamara

**A/N:** I got a review in which _Charming Visions_ asked me if I had read book six...well, the idea for this story had been in my head for quite some time and I really wanted to write it, so I decided to make it as accurate with book six as possible. Which means that Harry and Ginny never went out during Hogwarts, but did become good friends. Just for those of you who were wondering.

Well, the usual disclaimer applies and I want to thank KD for betaing. Also thanks for the reviews I've been getting. It really means a lot to me.

On with the story...

* * *

Tamara

I showed Ron (and all of my other brothers, for that matter) that they were wrong about their opinion of me playing Quidditch. The only one who believed in me was, ironically enough, Percy. Even though he had been a royal git during the war, he finally came around and we became a real family…well…Fred and George might still need some convincing… But then again, he knew nothing about Quidditch and only went to the matches when I asked him to.

My triumph came in our first match against the Falmouth Falcons where I scored a grand total of ten times.

True, the Falcons had a terrible defence. But they made up for that with a lot of violence and an astonishing good Keeper. Good enough to play for Ireland. We had a really hard time making goals, even though we didn't have to worry about their defence. Rachel, however, played wonderfully! She blocked most of the passes…only the very violent ones went through. And so we won, even though a Bludger hurt Tammy and the Falcons' Seeker caught the Snitch. Ha!

Er…am I the only one who's reminded of the 1994 World Cup Finals?

When I finally emerged from the locker rooms with Evy, all my brothers were waiting for me. Well, all my brothers except Ron. He just _had_ to go to Harry's match.

"Ginnikins!" Fred and George were walking towards me. I didn't like the look on their faces at all, so I did the only thing possible to shut them up, "Freddypeddy! Georgieporgie!"

That look on their faces was gone before I had finished my sentence. Ever since I had disappointed them by being a girl and not another boy, they refused to call me by my given name. Especially in the years before my first Swim, I was called 'it'. Or, when Mum was present, 'she' or 'her' or 'the seventh one'.

Everything changed with The Swim. Charlie and Percy started to call me 'Ginny' with the occasional 'Gin' or 'Ginevra' when they wanted to irritate me. Fred and George refused to stop calling me something I hated, so they invented 'Ginnikins'.

I hated it.

Ron couldn't pronounce my name correctly, so he simply called me 'Nee'. Terrible, isn't it? So when I started to speak coherent sentences, I came up with names for my brothers. Ron became Ronniekins (Fred and George especially liked that one), Fred was Freddypeddy and George Georgieporgie. They actually liked their nicknames until they found out that I would only use them when I was really angry and out to get them into trouble. They still haven't forgotten it.

Bill smiled at me as if he understood what I was talking about. "Hey kiddo!"

Yes, he definitely knew what I had been thinking about. You see, Bill always made sure he didn't have to call me by my name and somewhere along the line that evolved from 'hey', 'oy' and 'you there' into 'kiddo'. I think it had something to do with the fact that he became fifteen and had to look cool to his friends after having been made prefect.

It wasn't until I was about to attend Hogwarts that he started to call me 'Ginny' too. I felt very grown up when he addressed the last letter I would read before boarding the train with 'Ginny' instead of 'kiddo'. Unfortunately, first year happened and Mum and Dad decided to take us all to Egypt. It was very cool, actually, but I hated the fact that it was to '_take our minds off of things_'.

The first thing I heard at the International Portkey Station was Bill's voice saying, "Hey kiddo."

I was still very dazed and confused because of the trip we'd made, but I spun around and looked at him angrily. I started scoffing that I wasn't a child anymore. That I was going to Hogwarts now.

"You're eleven," he said simply.

"Almost twelve!"

"I'm still nine years older."

"Fat lot of good that'll do if you're not mature enough to see me as anything more than a child!"

"Bit rich coming from the girl that had to be saved by the Boy Who Lived."

I turned beet red and not because I didn't want to talk about what had happened with Riddle. Mum immediately started saying something to Bill so he would stop, but we both weren't listening.

"You put your life in danger every day!" I said suddenly. Everybody looked stunned, except Bill. He simply smirked.

"You've still got a crush on the Boy Who Lived…what did you tell me you sent him? Ah yes…_his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad_…"

"You don't even _have_ a love life!" I broke him off and stormed away. From that moment on I swore never to let him get away with calling me 'kiddo' anymore. Which was why I said…

"This is Evy. Evy, this is everybody. The one with the ponytail is my oldest brother Bill. Oh, don't bother," I said as I saw the look on her face, "He's married. To a part Veela…don't ask me how he managed _that_!"

"Hey!" Bill shouted out indignantly. I grinned…it served him right! They always had been teasing me when I was younger and somewhere along the way I picked it up from them and shot back in full force. Now it's just a way for us to show each other we love one another. "Charlie is the second oldest one. He could have been playing Seeker for England, but no, he had to go to Romania to work with dragons."

"Ginny!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Perce," I started without paying any attention to Charlie's protests, but I didn't get that far…

"Percy," said brother corrected me, "And I'm sorry, but I have to go, Ginevra. You did play really well today." And with a very Percy-like 'pop', he Disapparated.

"Right," I said while rolling my eyes, "That was my most…_righteous_…brother. Which is not that hard to become, especially compared to…" Once again, my _dear_ brothers interrupted me.

"Gred…"

"…And Forge."

"Simply splendid to meet you!"

"Evy, wasn't it?"

I hit them playfully on their arms. "Fred and George," I grinned, "Proud owners of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and absolutely not to be trusted. Never!" I looked around and remembered that Ron had gone to Harry's match. "Oh well, I reckon that was about everyone…"

"Okay," Evy was still grinning like mad and turned towards my brothers. "Quite the match, wasn't it? Wouldn't have won if it wasn't for the Little Red Wonder over here."

Bloody hell! I could _hear_ the capitalization and wasn't sure if I wanted that…

"Yeah," Fred said with a straight face, "You should have seen Bill and Charlie, they were just shocked to see you flying at all."

Now that he mentioned it, Bill and Charlie were indeed still quite shocked.

"Nice brothers," Evy murmured next to me out of the corner of her mouth, "Never seen you fly?"

I rolled my eyes. "I played four years at Hogwarts, they're bound to have picked up something on me being able to fly during those years!"

"We believe you!" Fred said immediately, recoiling as if I would hex him.

"Yeah, we know your Bat-Bogey Hex," George backed him up, "We _know_ you can fly."

"It's just Bill…"

"And Charlie…"

"Who seem to reckon you're…well…"

"Yeah…"

"Still too young to play ruddy professional Quidditch," Bill finished determinedly.

"I'm only a year younger than Ron!" My temper began getting the better hand of me. "I'm a year younger than Harry and he is playing a far more dangerous position than I am! I played for four years at Hogwarts! That's longer than you, if I recall correctly!"

"Well, I _did_ spend that amount of time flying," Charlie said sternly, but his demeanour changed immediately. "When did you learn to fly like that?" I swear I could hear a little awe in his voice.

"At home, when you weren't looking," I grinned, "I rode your brooms in turns so you wouldn't notice it."

"But who taught you how to fly like _that_," Bill was looking at me as if I must have had the best teacher in the world. Evy found all of this very amusing and I had to remind myself later to invite her over some time at the Burrow. It could be fun with her there.

"I watched you playing and then just started to fly," I shrugged, "It's not _hard_, you know."

"No, I don't," Bill said, his voice dripping with protectiveness, again…

"Oh get over it," I sighed, turning around to leave. Tammy had just left the locker rooms. "Let's see if Ron's changed his mind on the Cannons and Harry."

Charlie started grinning like mad, "Don't you mean Harry and the Cannons?"

Why did even Charlie have to notice the fact that I _used_ to have a stupid crush on the stupid Boy Who Lived? He was never here! It'd been a miracle he had been able to free some time to come watch this match.

"Come on, Tammy," I said, grabbing her arm. She was going to come over to celebrate our first match. The fact that we won did help. A lot. "Let's go before they stop acting like trolls and start acting like prats. See you, Evy!"

* * *

As Tammy and I entered the Burrow, a loud shriek sounded through the kitchen. « _Tamara! »_

I smirked at Tammy. "Is there anyone who _can_ pronounce your name correctly?"

She smirked back. "Yes, Dutch people."

In the meantime, Fleur came running towards us. « _Mais qu'est-ce que tu fais ici? » (1)  
_

"Bloody hell," muttered Bill, "She's not French, is she?"

Apparently, Bill had quite some experience with French people around Fleur. It always consisted of loads of incomprehensible words that very well could have been Gobbledegook.

"Dutch," I explained, "But she went to Beauxbatons, she was friends with Fleur. Fleur even invited her to your wedding."

In the meantime Fleur and Tammy were rapidly catching up in French…

_« Je joue Quidditch ici, avec les Harpies. Ginny joue aussi dans la même équipe et on partage une maison ensemble. »_ _(2)_ Tammy chatted happily.

_« Vraiment ? »_ Fleur looked astonished._ « Bill ne me l'a jamais raconté…autrement je serai venu au match aujourd'hui. » (3)  
_

_« Naturellement. » (4)_ Tammy smirked.

_« T'as raison. »_ Fleur giggled. Yes, she giggled._ « Je ne serai pas venue. » (5)  
_

"Do you have any idea what on earth they're talking about?" I asked Bill.

"A little," he hesitated, "My French isn't that good."

"Oy! Tammy!" I yelled.

"_Oui?_ I mean…what?" Tammy asked confused.

"We're beginning to think you don't want to include us in your conversation," I said, faking a hurt expression. Still, I couldn't really suppress a grin.

"Well, you're right." Tammy smirked and turned back to Fleur. _« Je ne comprends pas comment tu as pu te marier dans cette famille… » (6)  
_

"Hey!" Bill exclaimed, "I understood _that_!" I looked at him and saw him laughing. Perhaps it was time to start a crash course in French. What with being a national Quidditch player and stuff like that.

"Ah, but I love _you_, Bill," Fleur draped herself around my oldest brother, "You know zhat." Her _Eenglish_ had improved quite a bit… "It's funny zhat everything could have been different," Fleur continued, "If _Tamara_ had come with us and not chosen to play zhis Quidditch…"

"Nonsense," Tammy said, not even blushing at the compliment. I'd never heard Fleur speak so highly about anyone except maybe Harry. And the way Tammy had answered…as if Fleur were her little sister.

"But it's true!" Fleur said enthusiastically, "You are…"

_« Fleur, ça suffit ! »_ Tammy said firmly,_ « Tu sais très bien que c'était un choix que j'ai faite. Peut-être que je serai devenue championne, mais on ne saura jamais. Je suis restée est c'est toi que la Coupe a choisi. Toi, pas ton héritage Vélane. » (7)  
_

_« Hmm, peut-être, »_ Fleur said,_ « Mais je ne peux pas arrêter de penser que si c'est toi qui aurais été championne, Gabrielle ne serait jamais été en danger. Que moi, je n'aurais jamais été en danger pendant la troisième tache. Que Viktor n'aurait jamais pu m'avoir. Parce que tu aurais été plus vite que moi, tes réflexes sont plus vite. C'est ça qui fait de toi une merveilleuse Attrapeuse. » (8)  
_

They just jumped back to speaking French! How could they! Well, never mind, I suppose it's easier for them…

"But we're talking French again," Fleur smiled, having picked up on that tiny little fact. "Ginny, Bill's told me zhat you are an excellent Chaser."

"Yes, I guess I am," I said confused. What had just happened between them? But before I could start pondering that thought, Fred and George came crashing in, pulling Harry with them.

"And who is the champion now?"

I groaned. "Don't tell me, the Cannons won too?"

"They bloody well did!" Ron bellowed enthusiastically. Hermione followed him, rolling her eyes. I caught them and grinned at her.

'_I'm sorry!' _she mouthed.

"Well, so did Ginny," Bill said while messing up my hair with his hand, "You should have seen her fly!"

"I've seen her fly," Ron waved the comment away, "We were on the team together."

"But you don't believe I'm good enough," I replied.

"You're a girl!" Ron exclaimed, exasperated.

Tammy had been sitting this whole time in the background, looking at the rest of us with amusement. But now, she quirked an eyebrow and spoke up. "So?"

To his credit, Ron seemed to begin to understand he was making the biggest mistake of his life, especially because Hermione (his _girlfriend_) looked at him while shooting daggers from her eyes and said, "Yes, _Ronald_, please explain why."

"Well…" he stuttered, "The rest of the teams are mainly blokes."

"And your point is?" Tammy asked.

"Are girls not good enough in your opinion?" Hermione continued.

Ah, you simply have to love your best friends…

"Of course not!" Harry said quickly before Ron could say something stupid. And believe me, he would have. Both Hermione and me glared furiously at Harry, but he didn't seem to have as much of a problem with our disapproving glares as Ron (who definitely couldn't handle a furious Hermione) and continued calmly, "We've seen you fly, Ginny. You're a natural."

Why did he…wait, Harry thinks I'm a natural! I reckon a little celebration is in order.

With a stupid grin plastered on my face…because we won, you nitwit! I _don't_ like Harry! Anyway, I entered the kitchen to grab something to eat. But unfortunately, Mum was quicker than me…She dropped everything she was doing and enveloped me in a tight hug.

"I still think you're crazy for doing this instead of becoming a Healer," she whispered in my ear, "But you played wonderfully! Your father and I followed the whole match on the Wireless."

"Thanks Mum," I muttered, trying to find a way out of those firm arms. Which obviously didn't work, because Dad had to rescue me some fifteen minutes later when everybody (well, obviously not Ron…) was wondering what kept me.

"Let her breathe, Molly," Dad said, "She won't be able to play next time!"

"Don't give her ideas, Dad," I grinned while Mum let go of me. She only shook her head and went back to her cooking.

"Will you tell everybody that dinner will be ready in half an hour?" she asked without turning around. "They can set up the table in the garden…the weather is good enough and we simply don't have enough space otherwise."

"Sure, Mum." I dropped a kiss on her cheek and went back to the living room were hell had broken loose. Fleur and Tammy were chatting happily away in French. Bill and Charlie were going on about the Quidditch League. Just like Fred and George, actually. And Harry, Ron and Hermione. Only, Fred and George were discussing how much money they could make by merchandising real 'Harry Potter, Quidditch Extraordinaire'-gear. And the Trio was talking about Harry's chances in the League. Well…Harry and Ron were talking. Hermione was looking around, obviously bored. She sighed very relieved (and very audibly!) when she saw me.

"How was the match?" she asked softly as she scooted over to let me sit next to her.

"Okay," I shrugged, "I scored a grant amount of ten times…but I'm positive it was a one time thing. And of course everyone expects me to be this brilliant every next time I play."

"Men," she muttered smiling.

"Especially those hung up on the Cannons," I grinned. Then I remembered what Mum had asked me to do, "Oy! Non-professional Quidditch players! Mum wants you to set the table. Oh, and Fleur and Hermione are excused too."

"Bloody…" Ron started to groan.

"Come on, _Won-Won_," Fred smirked, "Show your girlfriend how manly you can be."

Ron turned bright red.

"You mean she already knows?" George looked very smug as Ron got even redder and disappeared very quickly into the kitchen.

It's good to know that _some_ brothers are on my side and not Harry's.

* * *

**A/N:** And for all those people that don't understand French, I translated the sentences below. I think I deserve some reviews for doing this, don't I? ;) 

(1) "What are you doing here?"

(2) "I'm playing Quidditch here, with the Harpies. Ginny's in the same team and we share a house."

(3) "Really? Bill never told me…otherwise I would have come to your match today."

(4) "Sure."

(5) "You're right. I wouldn't have come."

(6) "I can't understand why you married into _this_ family…"

(7) "Fleur, that's enough! You know it's a choice I made. Perhaps I would have been chosen as champion, but we'll never know. I stayed and the Goblet chose you. You, not your Veela-heritage."

(8) "Hmm, maybe. But I can't stop thinking that if you'd been chosen; Gabrielle never would've been in danger. That _I_ never would've been in danger during the Third Task. That Viktor never would've gotten to me. Because you would've been faster than me. That's what makes you a marvelous Seeker."


	6. Nasty little bugger gets engaged

**A/N:** Yes, well, I'm sorry alright! I've just been away to an island without any internet so well...posting became quite difficult. But I have two chapters now. Happy:) Anyway, thanks to everyone for all your reviews. _Semi-CrazyWithaLittleWeirdness_ told me that I didn't allow any anonymous reviews, but I fixed that now. Oh, and the usual disclaimer applies.

Nasty little bugger gets engaged

As I so nicely had told Hermione, my luck didn't last at all. In the match against the Montrose Magpies, I didn't even score once. It didn't help that it was the Cannon's day off and thus Harry, Ron, Hermione and even Luna went to watch the match. Luckily Tammy did fly better and caught the Snitch this time. We only lost by twenty points.

"Good match, Ginny," Luna congratulated me. I looked at her incredulously and turned to Harry to see if I had heard correctly. He only shrugged.

"Yes, I particularly liked that goal…" Ron started… "Wait, you didn't score."

Hermione rolled her eyes (she tends to do that a lot around Ron) and smacked him across his head. "She flew really well, didn't she?"

"Sure," Ron said, scowling at his girlfriend.

"Oh, don't sound too enthusiastic!" I sighed, "I know I'm awful…"

"You're not," Harry said, determined, "You had a bad day. The next match you'll win."

"If the Tillydrigs haven't devoured your broom before," Luna said, scolding a little. "You really should let me have a look!"

I looked at Hermione, who only shook her head. "Of course," I said, turning back to Luna with a smile. "You can look at it whenever you want."

* * *

When I got to practice the next day, Gwenog was already there. I sighed, because I had planned to be early so I could avoid everyone as long as possible.

"Have I ever told you about my first time with a team that was actually _allowed_ to play in the Quidditch League?" she asked a little reluctantly.

I shook my head, confused. Gwenog was arrogant, not ashamed or reluctant. Every story she told always contained some sort of heroic action of her doing.

"It was with the Tornados," she continued, smiling at the memory, "I had been out of Hogwarts for a year and started a job at the Ministry. But I hated it so much and decided to do something I liked. Playing Quidditch. The Tornados took me in and gave me a place on the base list. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement…I got hired by my favourite team and wouldn't even be a reserve! True, it had been Horace who had helped me, but still, I was on the team! That was, until I played my first match. And my second. And third. And fourth. I was so bad! I rarely hit a Bludger and when I _did_ hit them, I mostly sent them towards my own team. I blamed the manager and coach and even Horace for hiring me and wanted to quit the team. The coach started to yell at me and got very furious about my proposition. He told me that if I as much as _thought_ I wasn't good enough, I wouldn't be. So I had better get a grip on myself and start playing as I had done at the tryouts or he would beat it into me. And believe me, he would have."

I couldn't help but smile. Perfect Gwenog isn't so perfect after all…

"It was a miracle, because after that speech, I played fantastically." Hmm…her humility was nice while it lasted… "Of course, I have my days off. And there are loads of times in which I just want to yell at everybody for being such morons to believe in me. But mostly I just want to play. To fly and beat the hell out of those little buggers we call Bludgers." She took a deep breath of air, "I'm not here to yell at you, because, believe me, you would only laugh at me and keep playing like Dragon dung. But it will get better and I know you've got it in you. Because, in contrary to me, you didn't get on this team with Horace's help. You simply impressed us by stepping on that broom."

"I hardly impressed anyone," I muttered timidly.

"Whatever you want to believe," Gwenog rolled her eyes. "As long as you start scoring again, it's fine by me. The Bats are no picnic and we could really use your help."

So I started to train harder. Tammy declared me mental, but I couldn't care. I absolutely wanted to score at least one time the next match. The team's weekend off was scheduled in this period, which helped me train. Of course Harry _did_ play and _did_ catch the Snitch and _did_ win.

Ron was in a post-match euphoria. His team had won two games in a row! Stupid git.

"Easy, Ron," Hermione smiled. Harry had decided to give a little dinner to celebrate. Which in his words meant that Tammy and I had cooked and he only had made his apartment available.

"I bloody hell won't!" Ron wrapped his arms around her, "We're going to win the League!"

"Careful, Ron," Harry grinned, "I'm outnumbered by two Harpies."

"Doesn't matter," Ron smiled, "The Cannons _will_ conquer!"

"That's probably the first time in a century someone has said that sentence that confidently," I muttered to Tammy. She grinned and took another sip of her Butterbeer. Hermione and Ron were off again in one of their bickering/loving/whatever it was-row.

"Merlin's beard!" Harry mumbled as he let himself fall on the couch next to me, "They'll never grow tired of doing that, will they?"

"Nope," I said, shaking my head. "Come on, Tammy, we have an early practice tomorrow."

"Yes, we have," Tammy said, standing up, "Bye Harry!" She hugged him tightly and I noticed a smile on her face as I felt my own heat up with jealousy.

"Good luck with my brother's snog-fest," I grinned as I patted Harry on his shoulder. Tammy had already left and I prepared myself as Harry turned around, looking far too smug for his own good. "Be prepared for an announcement tomorrow. Bye Gin!"

What was that about?

* * *

Ron and Hermione were engaged! That nasty little bugger! He'd proposed the day before and Hermione said yes, of course. So now he was going to live with her, but because Mum would kill him when she found out, he told her that he would be living with Harry…Harry…he knew! He could have told me yesterday! I'm only Ron's only sister. Why did _he_ know and not _me_?

All right, yes, I suppose being best friends with the couple in question does help.

Tammy noticed my scowl. "You're jealous."

"About what?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow. Ron's my brother. Why would I be jealous of him and his girlfriend marrying?

"About Harry," Tammy smirked.

Oh…that… "There's nothing going on between us," I sighed, exasperated. "I already told you. He has Luna now and he's happy. Got it?"

"If I didn't know better," Tammy said, still smirking, "I'd believe you. You're a very good actress, you know?"

I grinned. "Of course I am. I've had years of practice around Harry."

* * *

"My mother invites you over for Christmas," I said while reading the letter Mum had sent me. Christmas was only a month away and Mum wanted to make sure everyone would be able to make it.

"I can't," Tammy said in between two bites of her breakfast.

"What do you mean, you can't? You've got nowhere to go!"

"My father only lives one International Apparition Point away. I'm going to celebrate _Sinterklaas_ with my family. It's a bit late, but better late than never."

"Tammy!" I groaned. She was talking gibberish!

She turned around and looked all innocent.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"For _Sinterklaas_, silly!" She danced around the room and giggled. I shot her an exasperated look and asked her to sit down and explain everything. Calmly.

"Oh, alright!" she sighed as she sat down, "You see, Nicholas was a half-blood wizard. His father was a wizard, his mother a very Christian Muggle from Asia Minor. Once he became of age, he continued his studies in Myra and became a wizarding bishop. There's a legend in which a terrible famine struck Myra and a wicked butcher lured three little children into his house, only to kill and slaughter them and put their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. But he didn't count on Nicholas to come over. He was in the vicinity and understood immediately that the meat he was getting wasn't ham. So he Confunded the butcher and healed the children. People say it was God who revived them, but I think it could also very well be possible that those children weren't dead, just severely injured. Still, since that day bishop Nicholas is the guardian of children. He's been canonized for his good deeds…for example, he gave a poor man anonymously some gold so the man could marry off his daughters. Ever since he became a saint, every child calls him _Sinterklaas_. You know, the Americans call Father Christmas Santa Claus."

"Santa Cl…" I started, but Tammy was faster.

"The Dutch took his name with them when they went to the New World and settled into New Amsterdam."

"Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't," Tammy smirked, "You British bought it from us after having conquered it one or two times. You changed the name into New York."

"Did we now?" I laughed.

"Yes, you did. We never really forgave you either. But that's got nothing to do with the story. _Sinterklaas_ is being celebrated by giving gifts, a tradition that people believe has been started by him with gold his wizard father left him. After he died, people in Asia Minor continued to give things to the poor anonymously, and those gifts were still often attributed to St. Nicholas. Over time, it evolved from gold to presents and candy."

"You've got special candy?"

"Oh yes! Marlies' Miniature Marzipan Animals, Mind Blowing Spiced Mills (both natural as almond filled), Peppered Nuts, Always Sizzling Banquet Letters (almond filled of course), Chocolate Galleons, Sickles and Knuts (you can't tell them apart from the real ones until you pop them in your mouth) and best of all, Chocolate Letters…I'll take some of them back with me when I return so you can taste them. But still, that's not everything. It gets better." Her eyes were twinkling furiously now.

"How?"

"We get surprises! You see, when a child becomes eight years old, their parents tell them that there's no such thing as _Sinterklaas_. I mean, even if he was a wizard, he couldn't live _that_ long! He was born in 300 A.D. for crying out loud!"

"But that's horrible! Poor children!"

"Not really, most of them already suspect something. But when they actually no longer believe, the festivities change. Instead of buying presents for each other you only buy things for one person and hide them in a surprise."

"A surprise, eh?"

"Exactly…and that's why I've got to see your brothers. Huygen won't know what hit him!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "What is it with your family and having unpronounceable names?"

"We're Dutch."

"And my brothers come in where?"

"A surprise usually contains a prank. And where Huygen is concerned, the prank can't be large enough. I reckon your brothers can help me…are you coming with me to Diagon Alley?"

* * *

As we walked to the Leaky Cauldron, Tammy kept going on and on about everything that came with _Sinterklaas_. Talk about being enthusiastic.

So, while Tammy was babbling, I waved at Tom and opened the gateway. Trying to suppress the giggles that wanted to come out, I pulled Tammy through it and towards the twins' shop.

"Well, well, look who decided to pay us a visit, Fred!" George was standing in the entrance, but I couldn't see Fred.

"Angelina?" Fred's voice sounded hopeful. When would he stop being so dim-witted and start acting like a real boyfriend instead of breaking up with her every ten seconds. "Oh, it's you."

"Nice to see you too, oh brother of mine," I said sarcastically. I heard Tammy and George snigger softly and they entered the shop. "Tammy, do you need me in the shop or can I get some presents while I'm here?"

"Sure, go," she waved impatiently, "Your brothers will help me, won't they?"

"Yeah…" George said. Fred was still sulking somewhere in a corner. "What do you need help with?"

I decided that this would be a perfect time to leave the shop. Behind me I could hear Tammy ask for the best pranks my brothers had. Most of the time you would be quite on the safe side when asking for something like that, but still, I wouldn't put it past them to sell her something that would prank her too. So I shook my head once or twice and left to do some shopping. Christmas indeed was approaching fast and I didn't think Gwenog would give us enough free time to buy presents. I could always give Dad something from Muggle London and Mum had been talking about wanting to buy new robes, but simply not having any time to do it. Bill and Fleur were slightly more problematic. Well, Bill not that much…his fang earring is getting a little old, so that could be a possible gift. And he also told me last Christmas that he missed his Gryffindor scarf. I probably could ask McGonagall for one, perhaps she would even let the elves embroider it with the Hogwarts crest…hmm, I shouldn't let Hermione know this. At least _she_'s not hard to shop for. A book is always perfect…I think I shouldn't go for one with highly intellectual content. But I heard that a very nice edition of '_Witch Weekly – Hundred Years the Best'_ had just come out. I don't suppose I can give Fleur one too…or maybe something from the twins.

I grinned at that thought. She surely wouldn't like that! The problem is that she's too bloody perfect! A recipe book with typical English dishes might do the trick, though. Bill complained a few times that he was always getting these fancy French meals. Mum might even want to help out with some of her recipes…yes, I would do that.

I'd already gotten some official Kenmare Kestrels merchandise for Charlie, autographed by the whole team. He's always been a fan of them and with me being a professional Quidditch star…well, what use is it to actually have the power and do nothing with it?

Percy would be slightly more difficult once again, but seeing as he genuinely was interested in the Harpies, I thought I could maybe give him a book about them. Together with a crash course in Quidditch, of course. Penelope would be joining us for Christmas too, so that would mean I should get her something…she had been a Ravenclaw and she was seeing Percy and last week I'd seen a review of '_How To Support an Influential Husband (and influence him in the progress)_' in the _Daily Prophet_. That'd be practically perfect!

Fred would definitely get something to help him with relationships. Perhaps one of those Muggle self-help books by doctor Jill or something. If Angelina and Fred would get back together again before Christmas (although the chances were very slim), I would just have to buy her something later. George was happy with almost anything, but he had mentioned something about a new Beater's bat, perhaps _The Beaters Bible _by Brutus Scrimgeour would also be nice. I don't remember either one of the twins having it. Actually, if I remember correctly, Mum banned it because they already knew most passages by heart without even reading it. Yeah…that would be perfect for George.

I could of course always give Ron some Chudley Cannons stuff…but the few things he didn't have yet, would surely have been given to him by his best friend…a certain Mr. H. Potter… Thank Merlin I know Hermione! She's bought Ron a book about chess ages ago and since it wasn't exactly cheap, she asked me to participate. Hmm…I'm buying quite a few books this year, aren't I? Anyway, that only leaves Harry and Tammy. And unfortunately I haven't got the foggiest idea what to get them. Not even a very tiny, accidentally shrewd one. So, deciding that I was bound to come up with something during my shopping, I went to Flourish and Blotts first.

Perhaps buying everyone books isn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

**A/N:** Hmm, that was quite a long chapter, wasn't it? Anyway...I want to thank KD for betaing this together with the next chapter while I was away. 

Please review!


	7. Being Ginny

**A/N:** You see? This chapter has been posted together with the last one. So you all should be happy now. :)

The usual disclaimer applies this time too, but I have to expand it. Because even though I love the song, I absolutely don't own _'Ik leef niet meer voor jou'_ from _Marco Borsato_. KD was very nice to have this ready and beta-ed when I came back.

* * *

Being Ginny

I closed the door as quietly as I could while I scolded myself for thinking it would be practical to stay with my parents after the party. Why I simply hadn't returned home after Ron and Hermione's engagement party was a mystery to me. They'd celebrated their engagement today, exactly a week after their initial announcement and I (being the most foolish witch in the world) had promised Mum I would sleep at the Burrow afterwards. No clue as to why I'd agreed to it. She'd simply looked so happy when I did.

I'd just turned around to sneak up the stairs when I heard a noise. My wand was immediately up in the air, but then I saw a glint of glasses.

"Harry?" I asked, a little surprised. Apparently Mum had not only convinced me to stay over.

"Go away, Gin," he muttered darkly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, ignoring him by sitting next to him.

"I'm serious Gin, you don't want to have anything to do with me," he sighed.

"And why is that, may I ask?" I quirked an eyebrow, what _was_ he talking about?

"I kill people," he muttered as he turned his head to look out of the window.

"Well, yes," I said, trying to make him see the positive side of it all. I couldn't even start to guess what made him like this. "But we're all very grateful you do, you know. A world without Voldemort is quite pleasant, if I may be perfectly honest."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," he snapped. "People who care about me get hurt. People I care about get hurt."

"That hasn't happened in ages." I tried to make a joke out of it. But whatever we might try, Sirius always seemed to come back to haunt him. "I reckon we're quite safe around you."

"Gin…" he said softly, almost pleadingly. "Don't care about me because I'm the Bloody Boy Who Lived…"

"But that's who you are!" I was getting quite exasperated. He was _not_ going to wallow in self-pity again. He hadn't done it in ages and I wasn't going to let him start now. What would Luna think? I had to keep myself from snorting, because a little part of me said that if Luna cared about such things, he would be stupid to keep her as his girlfriend. So I continued, "You've defeated Voldemort a countless amount of times. You're a true Gryffindor, a real son of your parents. They loved you, that's why they're dead. And not because you defeated a great evil wizard, as you hadn't done it by then. And Sirius," (he looked away as I said the name of his godfather, but I continued. He couldn't keep ignoring it.) "…died because he wanted to save you. Because you were the son of his best mate. Because he loved you as a son."

"Gin…" he said again, really pleading this time.

But I ignored him. "Mum adopted you into our family the moment you came over to ask how to get on platform 9¾ and I'm positive she didn't know who you were then. It was only when Fred and George came back from helping you with your trunk that she got to know your name. You're a bloody hypocrite to ask us not to do something you would do for us without hesitating. You would give your life for Ron if it would save his, wouldn't you?"

He remained silent as if to decide whether I was speaking the truth. Which I was…Mum, Dad, Fred, George, Ron and I would give our lives for him if it would save him. Bill, Charlie and Percy might even do it. And Harry definitely wasn't one to watch others die.

I looked at him and saw that he was trying to avoid my gaze. Well, if that was what he wanted… "I'm going to make tea," I said and I stood up to go to the kitchen. I know when I'm not wanted. And so I put some water in the kettle, lit a fire with my wand and put some teabags in it. Then I grabbed some cups, milk and sugar and put them on the table. The tea started to boil and I poured two cups, both for Harry and me. When I'd done all that, I turned around to see if he was still alive and got the magic scared out of me because he was standing right behind me.

"You're right, Gin," he sighed, "You're always right."

I just looked at him, grabbed the two teacups and gave him one. He sat down and twirled his a little bit around. "It's just been weird today," he muttered. "Luna and I broke up."

It was all I could do not to jump on the table, start doing a victory dance and spray tea everywhere while at it.

But I managed to refrain myself and finally choked out, "Why?"

He shrugged. "It didn't really work. She's fun and a great girl, but well…you know what Luna's like. She's a little weird and we were actually more friends than anything else. Thankfully we ended it before it got too physical."

That was so not what I wanted to know about Harry and Luna, but then again, Luna hadn't been in Ravenclaw for nothing. She was smart and would probably have known before Harry that their relationship was going nowhere.

"Well, yes," I said, "Luna has given me some good advice about the difference between friends and lovers."

"Poor Ginny," Harry said with a smirk. It was good to see him being more at ease. "Your relationship didn't work out as you wanted it to?"

"Oh no," I said, dead serious. "Luna was more than satisfactory." The expression on his face was hilarious! I giggled. "But in my third year she gave me the advice to stop blushing and being shy around you and start acting as a friend. It worked, didn't it? I've dated Michael and Dean since then and you and I are good friends."

"Yeah," he said as if he didn't know how to answer that. What was he thinking about? "Thanks Gin."

"You're welcome," I said, confused, "But enlighten me, thanks for what?"

He smiled. "For being Ginny."

Maybe coming back to your parents after a party wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

The day before Christmas saw me running through the snow on Charing Cross Road to get to Diagon Alley. I really should try and get all my presents at least a week before Christmas. But no, of course Tammy had to come in between with her _Sinterklaas_ and then Ron had to get himself engaged and Harry simply had to break up with Luna…do they know what things like that can do to a single and very successful witch?

So here I was, strolling about in Diagon Alley, hoping to get some sudden inspiration as to what to get Harry and Tammy. It's a pity that the people I'm closest to are the ones I don't know what to give. And there was Luna, walking towards me and I had nowhere to hide.

"Hello Ginny, have you seen Colin?" she said when she stood next to me.

"Colin…Colin Creevey?" I said, surprised.

"Yes." she smiled cheerfully.

"No…why?" I asked a little suspiciously.

"He wants to make pictures to go with the articles in the Quibbler. Our previous photographer cheated on his wife with one of the witches that help with the editing. Dad wants a single wizard now and I have to take the interviews."

It was very obvious she thought it was useless to interview people.

"Everything's going alright then?" I asked.

She knew I wasn't exactly talking about the magazine anymore. "Yes, he didn't love me, you know. He's completely and absolutely in love with somebody else, even though he doesn't exactly realize it yet. George looks handsome today." She nodded towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

I spun around to see George waving happily at us. Bollocking bollocks…

"You look confused, Ginny. Did the Tillydrigs make you fall from your broom? You really should let me have a look at it. Harry hasn't had any problems with them ever since. Although a Wrackspurt might have gotten to him…he _is_ really dense, isn't he?"

Not really knowing what she was talking about, but also not wanting to deny that Harry could be dense, I nodded.

"Well, it would help if you just got your act together and told him you love him."

"I do not love him!" I exclaimed. It's true! I've got a stupid crush on him, but I do not love him, right? Right.

"Oh! There's Colin. Tell Ronald I said 'hi'…oh, and George too."

I shook my head, smiling a little exasperatedly. "Will do. Say hello to Colin, will you?"

She just smiled back and walked away in that dreamy way of hers.

* * *

Christmas was fantastic. Bill and Fleur had helped Mum to prepare dinner. Mum had protested for ages until Fleur simply tutted and started preparing _foie gras_. Apparently that's an essential element of Christmas in France. Charlie had come over from Romania, but only for one day. Percy had brought Penelope with him, which seemed to be the cue for Mum to keep asking when they might marry. Fred was in a right state because in the month since I've been to Diagon Alley with Tammy, he managed to get back together with Angelina only to break up again just before Christmas. George thought it was very funny and kept teasing Fred about it until Hermione took pity on him and asked Ron to make George stop. Harry was doing the best he could to not be noticed in case he had to interfere too while trying not to burst out in laughter every time Fred passed by. You really don't want to get on the bad side of Fred, George or Hermione…or any one else from my family for that matter.

Gwenog had decided that it would be _useful_ to have practice on Boxing Day, so as soon as dinner was finished, I left. Mum tried to keep me, but I really had to go. I didn't fancy facing a furious Gwenog the next day.

As I went to open the door to our apartment, I could hear music playing…

"_...voor jou. Voorbij zijn alle nachten, dat ik hier heel alleen, op jou heb zitten wachten. Je hebt me keihard voorgelogen, besodemieterd en bedrogen. Dus droog de tranen in je ogen. Ik leef niet meer voor jou..."_

What the…? "Tammy?" I yelled as I entered our apartment.

"Hi Ginny!" Tammy beamed happily back while the music kept playing very loudly through the rooms. "Come sing with me!"

"What's going on?" I asked suspiciously. She'd just gotten back from the Netherlands. I hadn't seen her in at least a week. What was this?

"My boyfriend broke up with me," she grinned, jumping up and down on the couch. "Well, he was cheating on me for ages anyway and I already knew that, but he was in Holland and I was here, so I didn't really care. Now I'm simply celebrating being single!"

"I never knew you _weren't_ single," I said with a cocked eyebrow. Seriously, she had been _flirting_ with Harry at Ron and Hermione's engagement party!

"Oh, that's just details!" she laughed as she continued bobbing her head to the music. "Right now I feel like celebrating. Let's make a very large pizza!"

"Tammy!" I exclaimed laughing. I can't help it! She's very contagious when she wants to be. "What's this music anyway?"

"Marco Borsato," Tammy kept jumping up and down. "Dutch Muggle and dead helpful when encountering a very much welcomed break-up. _Ik leef niet meer voor jou-hou!_"

Mental, that's what she is.

"Right…well…um…" I still didn't quite understand everything. "You had a boyfriend?"

"Michiel," Tammy nodded, "Very boring chap, if you really want to know. So I have absolutely no clue how on earth he managed to find a girl willing to cheat with him on me."

"Why didn't you break it off when you moved here?" I asked a little puzzled.

"That wouldn't have been fun, now would it?" she grinned. The song had started over for what must have been the tenth time. "I wouldn't have been able to make him beg for forgiveness once I found him with a witch in his bed when I surprised him with a visit the day before yesterday."

"Merlin's beard, you're evil!" I muttered, wide-eyed.

Tammy simply grinned and continued singing and dancing.

* * *

On January 15th we had our first match of the New Year. And even though we won from the Appleby Arrows, most matches were hell.

Why, why, WHY did I ever want to play Quidditch?

Oh, right. To avoid Harry. This tactic has proven very successful, don't you reckon?

Our match with the Chudley Cannons came closer and closer when (after winning the matches against the Wigtown Wanderers, the Wimbourne Wasps and the Kenmare Kestrels) we lost from Puddlemere United. Oliver Wood's old team. The same Oliver Wood that had coached Harry (and even taught him how to play) at Hogwarts and was now on the same team with him. My only hope was that Puddlemere had gotten rid of the worse players. Hmpf…Wood and bad…that's a first! For some reason he always seemed to know exactly which players had potential.

We only had one match left before we would have to play against the Chudley Cannons, whom, miraculously, were winning practically everything. The only match they'd lost so far was against the Magpies and it didn't help much that Harry caught that bloody Snitch _every single time_.

I was putting on my leather padding before the match against Pride of Portree when Evy sat down next to me. "This is it, isn't it?" she asked.

I looked at her, perplexed.

"The last game before the Cannons," she clarified. "Isn't Harry Potter your brother's best mate?"

I scrunched up my nose. "Unfortunately, yes."

"We'll show them what we're made of," she said determinedly. "It's not as if we've gotten very far in previous Leagues. Most of the time we end up below semi-finals or with a little bit of luck in the semis."

"So, let's win the cup this year," I grinned.

"That's the spirit!" Evy laughed, "Now hurry up before Gwenog kills us for being late."

I followed Evy out onto the pitch. If we won the Cup, it would surely show Ron I was good enough to play professionally. And the moment I kicked off the ground, everything felt right. We would win this match. And then, we would be guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. I grinned as I heard the whistle, which announced the beginning of the match. Yes, everything would be all right.

* * *

**A/N:** Review? ;) 


	8. He's not my bloody boyfriend!

**A/N:** Don't be angry! I have been travelling last week from the Netherlands to the south of France. And the week before I have been very busy with moving. But I will have internet access, just not very regularly, so even if I am in France now (the Pyrenees, for anyone who was wondering), I will be able to update around every two weeks. Still, this is a very long chapter, so that should make you happy, right?

Well, usual disclaimer applies!

* * *

He's not my bloody boyfriend!

"Have you read the Prophet?" Tammy said excitedly as I entered the kitchen for breakfast. We'd won the match yesterday with a hundred and eighty points in the lead. The Portrees had been thirty points behind when Tammy caught the Snitch. She was ruddy brilliant; the Portree's Seeker didn't even see her before she'd caught it.

"I just got out of bed!" I exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Well, read this." She tossed the Prophet on my plate. I grabbed it and looked at it.

_CANNONS, WATCH OUT!_

_Who would have thought a year ago that the Chudley Cannons would have a fair chance of winning the Quidditch League ever again?_ (I grinned…That'll make Ron's day!)_ But with the appointment of Oliver Wood as their Keeper and Captain and Harry Potter as the new Seeker, the Chudley Cannons are back in the League and a force to be reckoned with. But what will happen in a fortnight, when they will meet the Holyhead Harpies. _

_This all-witch team showed the wizarding world yesterday why they were the ones that defeated the Heidelberg Harriers in a seven-day match in 1953. In their match against Pride of Portree, they played in perfect unison. _

_Most of the praise should be directed to Rachel Hodges, the Harpies' Keeper. She'd never played better than yesterday when she only let four goals pass, resulting in a score of two hundred and twenty to forty for the Harpies. Rumours are she's on the list to become the new Keeper of the England National Team. After the disgrace of the last couple of World Cups, Wizarding England would be very relieved with this choice._

_Gwenog Jones (captain) and Meredith Cadwallader have played as Beaters together for such a long time that it wasn't a surprise to see them react to each other without having to discuss their manoeuvres. The rest of the team didn't have to worry about Bludgers, simply because of the presence of these two Beaters._

_Chasers Evelyn Vandermark and Natalie Eads show the same collaboration as the Beaters and it will be a shame to see Eads leave at the end of the season. Just as it was a shame to see Sara Bent leave at the start of this season. As most of the Quidditch supporters can easily remember, the three Chasers could pass almost everything on their path. When they appointed Ginevra 'Little Red Wonder' Weasley straight out of Hogwarts, I have to admit that I was convinced the Harpies couldn't achieve that kind of performance this year. Merlin…was I wrong! Because this Miss Weasley can fly! Yes, sister of the famous owners of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Yes, sister of Ron Weasley, who helped Harry Potter vanquish You-Know-Who and is currently engaged to Hermione Granger, another good friend of Harry Potter. Yes, the girl who helped vanquish He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But you forget all of that once you see her fly. She's been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team ever since her fourth year, at first as the replacement for Harry Potter as Seeker when he was banned from playing Quidditch ever again. When that ban had been withdrawn (and rightly so too), she decided to try out for Chaser. I, for one, am happy she didn't stick to playing Seeker. Because, even if she's the youngest one on the team and she's never played professional Quidditch before, she fits in the trio just like Bent used to fit. In her first match for the Harpies, she scored ten times. She hasn't scored that much since, but she's played remarkably better and together with the other Chasers, they've won a fair amount of matches. This would be another acquisition for the National Team. Especially since she's already playing so well with Hodges._

_The only thing these two will have to worry about at the World Cup next year will be Tamar Romeijn, the Dutch Seeker. Dutch officials have already started training with their team since most of their players are currently engaged in foreign leagues. Still, she's no Harry Potter. She's missed the Snitch a few times, but even the Boy Who Lived will miss the Snitch eventually. Let's just hope it won't be in a deciding match against the Harpies. _

_Romeijn is, just like Weasley, new on the team this season. After attending Beauxbatons, she played with the Quiberon Quafflepunchers as a reserve. A friend told her the Harpies were looking for a Seeker and she decided to try her luck in Britain instead of France, since her contract with the Quafflepunchers was coming to an end. A superb flyer, she once pulled off a Wronski Feint, even if she insists it was 'purely coincidental and I don't plan on repeating it ever again'._

_Together, the Harpies show that they have what it takes to win the League as have the Cannons for that matter. The big question remains. Who will win?_

"They're joking, right?" I asked Tammy incredulously. They couldn't mean all of the things they wrote. Half of the article was about praising me. Me! Little Ginny Weasley who had been stupid enough to try out for the Harpies.

"Not really," Tammy grinned, "You're the Little Red Wonder!"

"They have got to be joking," I stuttered, perplexed. "I know I must have done something right, but this?"

"Yes, well, don't let it get to you," Tammy rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Just don't leave the house until everybody starts treating you nicely again."

I threw the paper at her playfully. "I meant that it's really hard to believe! I'm used to a Daily Prophet that was being controlled by the Ministry and couldn't print anything nice on my account!"

"Well, I think it's a miracle they're so nice about me." Tammy looked at the article again. "What did I do?"

"Er…you won us our match yesterday?" I grinned, "Come on, give it to me, I want to Floo my Mum."

Tammy handed me the paper and I stuck my head in the flames after throwing some powder in it.

"Ginny!" Dad exclaimed, surprised. "What brings you here?"

"Have you seen the Prophet?" I asked excitedly.

"Not yet," Dad answered, looking around on the table to find the paper. "Why don't you come over for lunch and bring Tammy with you. If I remember correctly, your Mum has invited Ron, Hermione and Harry too. Oh, and the twins."

"Well, we had plans with Evy…" I answered apologetically.

"I'm sure your Mum wouldn't mind another guest…oh, there it is!" He triumphantly pulled the Prophet from under a pile of parchment.

"I'll ask the girls and let you know, okay?" I answered.

"Sure…" Dad already was engrossed in the paper.

"What about lunch at the Burrow?" I asked Tammy as I turned to her. She only grinned widely in response.

* * *

Evy immediately looked around in amazement once we stepped into the Burrow's kitchen. 

"You grew up here?" she asked as she caressed the surface of the table with her hand.

"Yes," I answered, "You've seen my brothers. This is the only place that could survive them. I warn you, watching my brothers while they're eating is not a pretty sight."

"Don't care," she shrugged, "This is marvellous! My parents kept everything nice and neat. My sister and I weren't allowed to do anything…no magic, no games, no nothing. This looks like a family has actually been living here in the past couple of decennia!"

"Well, things like that happen when you've got six older brothers," I smiled.

"Oh, I still have to meet Ron!" she exclaimed. How she could be so excited about meeting Ron still remains a mystery to me.

"They should be here any minute now…hi Mum!" Mum had just entered the kitchen. "This is Evy, my co-Chaser."

"Hello dear," Mum said, distracted. "Ginny, could you help put the tables outside? We have to make use of the nice weather. The twins should be around somewhere to help."

As if on cue, a loud bang erupted in the back yard.

"I think we can find them," I smiled before Mum could start yelling. We entered the garden and saw Fred and George already putting stuff on the tables. The only problem was that they seemed to have a contest as to who could make the most noise.

Before they could continue with their stupid little game (which they found very amusing, of course. But well, that's why they are the twins and not Bill and Charlie or something. Although Charlie starts to act more and more like George…) I interrupted them. It wouldn't be long before the Burrow would be without a garden.

"Fred, George, you know Evy, right? Oh and you might want to keep it down, Mum's in the kitchen."

"Righto sister!" they said together.

"Are the others here yet?" George continued, that wicked look from their game still on his face. "Mum is getting furious about Ron and Hermione not tying the knot on the wedding date, while in the meantime they are living together."

"Outrageous, that's what it is," Fred nodded seriously. Or at least, as seriously as one of the twins could be. "Oy! Speaking of the devils!"

I turned around and saw the trio walk towards us as if nothing had changed since Hogwarts.

"Hullo," I said, "This is Evy. Evy, this is Ron, my youngest brother, Hermione, his fiancée and, well, Harry. Harry is off limits."

Oh…er…didn't mean to make it sound like that…

Even so, Harry raised his eyebrows and Fred and George were grinning too much not to have some devilish plan including my not-so-secret-crush on Harry.

I started laughing at the look on their faces. "He's the Cannons' Seeker! Which means no talking to him, because that would be fraternising with the enemy…even if he is my brother's best mate. You too, Tammy, we can't give out secrets this close to the match against them."

"It's not as if you'll win it," Ron muttered and Hermione immediately shook her head while rolling her eyes.

"Is that right?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Well, if we won't win, then neither will they."

"A tie?" Ron shook his head incredulously. "That's impossible!"

"Not impossible, Ron, improbable," I smirked, "Come on, we have a table to set."

* * *

"Bugger!" I muttered as I stood in the middle of the pitch. We were waiting for the referee to call the captains forward and I couldn't stop thinking I had to be mental for doing this. I wasn't good enough! Well, maybe I was, but Harry was a fantastic Seeker and Wood could block almost anything, "Oh _bugger_!" 

"Great show of confidence Weasley," Evy said next to me.

"We're never going to win," I sighed, defeated.

"Did you even read the Prophet after the last match?" Evy asked.

"Have you ever seen Harry and Wood play? Together?" I answered incredulously. "We may have fantastic Chasers, but they have a ruddy fantastic Keeper and Seeker!"

"Bloody confident, that's what you are," she muttered darkly.

"Captains, step forward please," the referee called out. Wood and Gwenog stepped forward and shook each other's hands.

"Bugger, bugger, bugger!" I muttered as they stepped back. The referee whistled hard and suddenly everybody was up in the air. I immediately had possession of the Quaffle and shot forward to the Cannons' goal hoops. From the corner of my eye, I could see Natalie speeding forward and I passed her the Quaffle. She took a shot and scored. Perfect!

But it had barely passed the hoop when one of the Cannons' Chasers, John Beutel, grabbed it and shot off toward our end of the pitch. Evy intercepted the Quaffle only to drop it as a Bludger almost hit her. At that exact moment I saw something gold glitter near the Cannons' hoops. I turned my head and looked straight at the Snitch. Cursing myself for being a Chaser (and therefore not allowed to catch it), I looked up at Tammy to let her know. She understood me immediately (living together has it's perks) and I turned my attention back to the game. Evy was flying fast at me and I sped up. When we were next to each other, she tossed me the Quaffle and I went straight for the goals. The only thing I remember from Wood at Hogwarts was that he sometimes forgot to look after the left hoop. So I didn't hesitate and scored through the left hoop. His loss.

Wood looked at me, perplexed, and then at the Quaffle, when he saw the Snitch. Dammit! So I did the only thing possible. I went straight for the goal hoops, shot over them and yelled, "Good work, Wood!" As I turned, I saw that the Snitch was gone and Wood was looking at me angrily. "You're welcome!" I grinned and I shot back to my end of the pitch where Allan Lager and Beutel were coming very close to Rachel. And suddenly, out of nowhere, Matthew Olsen appeared, took the Quaffle and scored. Twenty to ten for us.

"Watch out, Gin!" I heard Harry yell as a blur passed me. What the…? I followed him with my eyes. He hadn't seen the Snitch, had he? Looking up, I saw Tammy making slow rounds and started grinning as Harry flew back up just in time.

"Stop ogling your boyfriend and start paying attention to the game, Weasley!" Gwenog yelled as she shot past me to hit a Bludger to Olsen (who was in possession of the Quaffle once again).

"He's not my bloody boyfriend!" I shouted back, but she was right. I _should_ pay more attention to the game. It's my job to score, not looking around to see what the others are doing. I took a deep breath and flew back to the Quaffle. Rachel had blocked Olsen's shot and Natalie and Evy were speeding towards Wood. I turned and went with them, but they had it covered. Natalie threw the Quaffle and Wood blocked it. About time, too.

It was so great to be flying against the Cannons that when Gwenog called a time-out, I had no idea how long we had been playing.

"It's been one and a half hours since the start of the match," Gwenog started.

"You're joking!" I blurted out, "That long already?"

"Absolutely," Gwenog nodded, "We're thirty points in the lead…Tammy, any improvement on the Snitch?"

"Except for that time Ginny spotted it, I haven't seen it," she shrugged, "Oh, Harry faked a catch, but well, that was a fake."

"Yes, I noticed," I crunched up my nose.

"Yes, so did I," Gwenog said, looking at me accusingly.

"He's not my bloody boyfriend!" I said, outraged.

"Wait," Natalie spoke up, "Ginny spotted the Snitch?"

"Yes, but that's not the point," Tammy said, "I'm not good enough for Harry. We'll have to distract him as long as we're not far enough in the lead."

"That won't be a problem," Evy grinned, "We just shove Ginny in his path. That'll keep him busy."

"He's not my bloody boyfriend!" I rolled my eyes.

"Never mind," Gwenog said, "We've got better Chasers. We'll have to score fast so we'll be in the lead when they catch the Snitch. Have any of you seen a weakness in Wood?"

"Well," I said hesitantly, "In the two years I've watched him play…if he's got any fault, it would be that he sometimes forgets to defend the left hoop."

"That's…something…" Natalie said hesitantly.

"I was eleven or twelve," I sighed, "I wasn't looking at tactics. Besides, he was on my team, so I didn't really have to."

"It's a start," Gwenog decided, "Rachel, keep blocking their passes. They make mistakes." Rachel nodded. "Natalie, Evy, Ginny, just score." We nodded. "Tammy, keep Harry busy or catch the Snitch." Tammy nodded. "Meredith and I will make their lives a living hell."

We kicked off and almost at once I came in possession of the Quaffle. As I had nowhere to go, I tossed it to Evy, who shot away with Natalie. Suddenly everything went very fast. Evy and Natalie were trying to pull off a Porskoff Ploy, but Kathryn Parish caught on to them easily and hit a Bludger towards Natalie.

"Oy, Natalie!" I yelled. She ducked just in time, but Wood hadn't noticed anything and as Evy shot to score, Wood got hit. And the Quaffle passed the hoop.

"That doesn't look good," I muttered as Natalie and Evy came flying next to me. All of the Cannons were on the ground, supporting Wood.

"I reckon he won't be able to fly for the rest of the match," Natalie said mischievously. Evy and I looked at her. "That's going to be a reserve."

A huge grin crept up my face and Evy started nodding wickedly as below us Wood got carried off the field. A lanky man walked a little awkwardly to the rest of the team.

"Oh goodie!" Evy grinned, "He's nervous! Let's give him a warm Harpies' welcome!"

We flew back in position as the Cannons came back in the air. It was show time.

As Evy so eloquently had put it, Luke Bloss was nervous. Well, who wouldn't be as Wood's replacement? But still, it gave us one hell of an advantage. In half an hour we were up from fifty to eighty to seventy to one hundred and sixty. And Bloss only got more uncertain of his own capacities. From the ground I heard Wood yell loads of things, but I wasn't paying attention to it. Natalie, Evy and I were on warfare and kept storming forward to the goalposts. We had to score as often as possible and let's face it; Bloss wasn't really making it hard on us.

And thus, Evy scored, I scored, Lager scored, Evy scored again, Natalie scored three times in a row and suddenly we were a hundred and forty points up. Only twenty more points and then we would be able to win.

Olsen was racing towards Rachel when I blocked him, grabbed the Quaffle and shot away in the opposite direction. Suddenly the shouts of the crowd stopped, but I didn't pay any attention to it. It was me against Bloss; Evy and Natalie were nowhere around. I sped up. I had to score. If only so we wouldn't lose. And there it was, the perfect opportunity. I grinned at Bloss and threw the Quaffle. The moment it passed the hoops, the referee whistled. Flabbergasted, I turned around. That wasn't a foul, was it?

And then I saw it. The Snitch. In Harry's outstretched hand.

Oh bugger, we lost.

Defeated, I flew over to my teammates who were celebrating at the top of their lungs. I looked at them, completely bewildered. "We lost, didn't we?"

"It's a tie!" Rachel grinned, "Your shot gave us a hundred and fifty point lead!"

"Final score is two hundred and thirty to two hundred and thirty!" Meredith laughed, "They didn't win!"

"Our _ickle_ Red Wonder," Evy cooed, tousling up my hair.

My jaw had dropped a few feet, "It's a _tie_? But…but…but that's impossible!"

"Not for our Little Red Wonder!" Evy grinned.

"But…but…but…" I stuttered.

"Oy! Harpies! On the ground, now!" Gwenog yelled from below us.

"Good job, Gin!" I heard Harry call out to me as we flew down. All of my teammates' eyes were upon me so I said firmly, "He's not my bloody boyfriend!"

"Whatever let's you sleep at night," Meredith said knowingly.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews might help me update sooner. :)  



	9. Distraction

**A/N:** Wow! Your reviews are just wonderful! Everybody seems to like this story (well, I wouldn't know why anyone who wouldn't like it, would still be reading it, but anyway). Thanks so much for letting me know what you think about it! And thank you, KD, for getting this chapter betaed this quickly.

This chapter is not as long as the last one, but hey, it could have been worse. I'll try to update soon, but next week will be quite hectic, so I don't know...bear with me, okay?

Oh, and the usual disclaimer applies.

* * *

Distraction

"You couldn't let us win, could you?" I sighed as I exited the locker rooms and saw Harry standing there with Ron, Bill, Fleur, Percy and George. Hermione had been very wise and stayed at home to help Mum prepare dinner. Charlie was off chasing dragons somewhere. Fred was minding the shop. So that left the rest to attend the match…but only Ron had been supporting Harry. Revenge could be so sweet.

"And what would have been the fun in that, Gin?" Harry teased.

"I would have won," I muttered darkly.

"But _you_ made it a _tie_," Harry smiled, "You do know how rare that is?"

"You played very well," Fleur said, "Bill was right about you."

"Bloss was rubbish," I sighed, "We'd never have won with Wood."

Harry burst out laughing, "He is, isn't he? Rubbish, I mean."

"He was looking at Harry catching the Snitch!" Ron defended him.

"But that isn't his job, now is it?" I answered him cheekily. "Come on, Harry!" I linked my arm with his. "Let's celebrate our tie!"

* * *

When I got to practice next Monday, Gwenog was waiting for us with a very familiar looking wizard. 

"Oy! Girls!" she shouted, "This is Karl Broadmoor. He's the manager of the England National Team and wants to ask some of you to try out. Ginny, Rachel, go with him. The rest of you, practice started fifteen minutes ago!"

Rachel and I looked at each other, shrugged and followed Karl Broadmoor to an office where he sat down. He used to play for the Falmouth Falcons with his brother somewhere in the sixties. They were very good Beaters…especially since both were astonishingly specialized in foul play.

"Miss Hodges, Miss Weasley," he nodded, "We've been watching you play and are very pleased to invite you to try out for the national team. We must warn you that a lot of other witches and wizards will be there, but we think you might be of valuable asset. Practice won't start until after the League, but tryouts will take place once every week. We will be expecting you the first Tuesday after Easter, the 25th of April."

"I'll be there," I said before he could change his mind.

"Yes," Rachel nodded, obviously thinking the same thing. "Count me in."

* * *

I'd never been to the England Quidditch pitch and when Rachel and I stepped onto it, I felt like I was a tiny bug. It was huge! Almost as huge as the World Cup Finals pitch and I only was a little girl then. Well, all right, thirteen years old, but I was a lot smaller than I am now. 

"Welcome, welcome!" I heard the voice of Karl Broadmoor from somewhere in the centre of the pitch, "Gather around, all of you."

"Bit scary, isn't it?" I heard that o-so-familiar-voice of Harry say behind me.

"Loads of people, that's what it is," Rachel mumbled next to me.

I turned to look at Harry, "I bloody well should have known you were going to tryout too."

"I'm only the best Seeker they have," Harry grinned cockily.

"How about you and me, next Weasley dinner," I accepted his silent challenge. If I remember correctly, I saw the Snitch before he did at the last match. "The first to catch the Snitch, wins and gets to decide on a punishment for the loser."

"Ginny…" Rachel tried to reason with me, but I didn't listen. I simply looked at Harry expectantly.

"You're on." was all he said. Next to me, I saw Rachel shake her head, but I didn't care. Harry was going to know how it felt to lose.

* * *

"What are the rules again?" Fred asked me that Thursday. Harry had kept his word and shown up at dinner with his Firebolt. Mum started to throw a fit when she found out what we were planning to do, until I promised we'd wait until after dinner and wouldn't kill each other. Harry burst out laughing, but Mum was dead serious with the glare she threw at him. 

"We go up, we fly, you release the Snitch…do _not_ let Ron help you! He'll only try and help Harry!" I repeated the rules (which I'd been doing at least six times that evening). "The first one who catches it wins and gets to boss the other one around for a day."

"About that, Gin," Harry showed up, "I wouldn't want to abuse you once I win."

"Don't worry, you won't," I interrupted him simply.

"So perhaps we can decide what the loser's got to do, now?" he finished.

"Afraid you'll lose?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Fine, you'll have to take me to the Quidditch League Ball as a date. Even if you're seeing somebody else." I saw Fred's eyes twinkle with mischief and continued quickly, "What do you want?"

"Announce your undying love for Malfoy before the beginning of your next match," Harry said without blinking. That was low. He only had to act nice to me during an otherwise very boring party, I had to…wait, which Malfoy?

"Which Malfoy?" I asked him.

"Your choice," he smirked, "As long as it's a Malfoy. So you're up to it?"

"Absolutely," I nodded firmly, "I hope your girlfriend doesn't easily get jealous."

"I hope the world forgives your infatuation with the Malfoys," he said and we kicked off. We both made a few laps around the paddock and then turned to Fred.

"I already let go of it!" he yelled.

"Good luck, Harry," I nodded, "You're going to need it."

"I've caught it more often than you," he grinned.

"But you missed it once," I smiled as angelically as I could, "You've lost once to Cedric."

"One word, Gin: Dementors."

I smirked. "Whatever makes you sleep at night." I turned around and started doing some more laps while Harry kept dropping his broom to fly up again and restart. Bloody show-off.

Nothing really happened during the next ten minutes. It was kind of boring without Chasers and Bludgers (the twins had offered to chuck stuff at us to make it more interesting, but we politely declined…okay, I practically cursed them for proposing it). We kept practising moves to pass the time when I suddenly saw a glint of gold. Harry (being the perfect Seeker he is) had of course noticed it too and was a broomstick ahead of me. But I wasn't chosen right out of Hogwarts for nothing! Within seconds, I had caught up with him and we were chasing the Snitch together.

"Leave it, Gin," he said to me, "We both know I'm better."

"No, we don't, Harry," I glared at him (and almost hit a tree-branch), "We've never played each other. Now shut it, I want to win."

Harry chuckled, "Short attention span, miss Weasley?"

"If that's what it takes to win, yes." I kept my eyes on the Snitch, which was definitely fleeing from us. Still, we got closer to it by the minute.

"That won't do during a match, now will it?" Harry still chuckled.

"At least now I don't have my Quidditch gear on with leather padding that's too tight to be comfortable," I muttered. Suddenly Harry's presence wasn't anymore next to me so that the following second I had my hand around that tiny, fluttering golden ball. Confused, I looked around. Why was Harry looking baffled?

"Harry? Are you alright?" I asked as I flew up to him.

"Yeah…" he croaked, "Yes, I reckon we now know who's a better Seeker." He nodded at the Snitch in my hand.

"You suddenly disappeared…" I said as we went back to the ground where my three youngest brothers were standing, looking as if the world was crumbling down around them.

"Oh sodding hell," I muttered, rolling my eyes, "Harry isn't infallible! He just got distracted!" As Harry turned red, I suddenly understood everything. Grinning wickedly about my new power, I entered the Burrow. We were going to have so much fun at that party!

* * *

We lost the next match against the Tutshill Tornados. They weren't even that much better, but _we_ were simply playing like dragon dung. 

The Prophet began speculating about the presence of some curse on us for never getting through to the finals. And to tell you the truth, the odds weren't good. The Cannons, Magpies and Puddlemere had placed themselves a long time ago, but we were still competing with the Falcons and the Caerphilly Catapults. Well, our next match would be against the Catapults and if we won, we would only have to compete with the Falcons. Should they lose from Portree, their chances would be gone. If we won from the Catapults, the Falcons could either lose or tie, without changing our chances to go to the semi-finals. After all, we'd defeated the Falcons with more goals than they could ever make.

Ron kept gloating so much about the early placement of the Cannons that I seriously began thinking of ways to get away with killing him without upsetting Hermione. She was my friend, even if she seemed to have a serious lack of judgement on Ron's part.

Harry condoled me with a huge grin plastered on his face before the match and I only glared at him with such force that even _he_ flinched a bit. Serves him right.

But it didn't matter after all. Tammy caught the Snitch after a whole eight minutes and forty-three seconds of playing. And an hour later came the news of an impressive defeat of the Falcons. We'd done it! We'd gotten through to the semi-finals!

Bloody hell, that meant we would be playing Puddlemere United again.

* * *

That evening I remembered I had to ask Harry about the party. We hadn't really had a chance to talk to each other since I won our little bet, but the ball was approaching fast. I was only hoping Ron wouldn't be at home, but since that only was so Mum wouldn't get suspicious…I had a pretty fair chance that I would find Harry alone. 

So I Apparated to their apartment and rang the doorbell. I cocked an eyebrow when Ron answered. He was looking as puzzled as I felt.

"What are you doing?" he asked after a moment.

"Very nice to see you too, Ronald!" I sighed, "Is Harry here?"

"What do you want to see him about?" he continued his interrogation.

"Isn't Hermione expecting you?" I folded my arms in front of my chest.

"You're not seeing each other, are you?" he glared at me.

I snorted, "Not likely. And it's none of your business if we are. I'm only one year younger than you and you're lying to Mum about living together with Hermione. Wouldn't want her to find out, now would you?"

"Thanks," he rolled his eyes, but grinned at the same time. Besides, he doesn't have any dirt on me. Together with Bill, I'm the only Weasley that can keep secrets that Mum will never find out. Of course, I'm her only girl and did you really think Bill kept his ponytail and earring just because he likes to irritate Mum? No, didn't think so either.

"Come in," Ron gestured inside, "He's around here somewhere, so I'll be off then."

"Give Hermione my love," I winked and the door closed behind him. I walked into their apartment and saw something move in the kitchen.

"Bloody hell, what did he do to you!" I muttered worriedly as I saw Harry's back. He didn't have a shirt on and his back was covered in scars. He tensed immediately and grabbed something (a robe, if I'm correct) before he turned around.

"It's nothing, Gin," he said softly.

"Of course," I nodded, "and that's why you keep that robe clutched to your chest."

He looked down at his chest and noticed I was right. Sighing, he put the robe back on the chair. His chest was even more scarred and before I knew it, I stood in front of him, looking at a particularly ghastly one that ran from his heart to his bellybutton, "Bloody hell, Harry…" I muttered.

I felt him shrug. "I for one am glad that he didn't give me those when I was little. Can you imagine, my scar hurting with all of these?" He motioned to his body. He could still laugh about it? A fortnight ago he'd been moping about being a menace to us all, but when it happens to him, it's no big deal?

"You're mental," I said simply.

"Why thank you," Harry chuckled. "What brings you here?"

"Our date."

If Harry had been drinking something, I would've been covered in it by now. Luckily, he only stared at me with his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

"You look so much like Mad-Eye…say 'Constant Vigilance!' will you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Much better. "What date? The ball?"

"No, the Quidditch finals," I shook my head. "Of course the ball!"

"Give a bloke a break, Gin! I'm awfully sorry, but I can't take you, the team is meeting that evening and Wood, John and I go directly afterwards to the party."

"Oh no, we made a bet and I won. No excuses."

"We could meet each other there. I promise I won't meet any other witch." He winked. Stupid boy…

"Perfect. Because you're not getting out of this, Potter."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Weasley."

I looked at him for a moment when I remembered I had to get up early the next morning for practice. "Well, gotta run, Harry. I'll see you around." He walked with me to the door.

Suddenly, I turned around. "You gave him hell, didn't you?" I said softly before I prepared to Disapparate.

He nodded smiling.

"Good, 'cause I would have revived him and punished him for everything he put you through."

He tried to suppress a chuckle, but failed miserably. "Goodnight Gin."

* * *

**A/N:** Ah...well, review! I absolutely love them! 


	10. Chasing Virginia

**A/N:** Well...er...yes, that took quite long. But this chapter didn't want to be written! And now I've got this one and the next one finished together. And I'm both posting them, so that should make you happy, right?

So...usual disclaimer applies and I thank KD for betaing this.

* * *

Chasing Virginia

"It will be okay. Everything will be okay. There are no problems in the world. Everything is going to be okay," Tammy kept muttering over and over and over just before our match against Puddlemere United.

"Just do what you did a month ago and everything will _indeed_ be okay," Gwenog snapped at her when she got fed up with it. Can't really blame her. Tammy can be a right pain in the…well, she's bloody frustrating sometimes!

"Their Keeper's come down with a nasty form of Dragon Pox," Gwenog continued.

Natalie burst out laughing, saw the seriousness on Gwenog's face and muttered a quick, "Sorry."

"So," Gwenog continued once again, "As it is, he won't be able to play, so they're pulling out their reserve Keeper. And judging by her looks, she won't have to fly around to cover all of the goal posts."

Evy, Natalie and I all groaned.

"Exactly," Gwenog nodded, taking our groans as some kind of agreement for whatever she was thinking. "So watch out. Tammy, try to do the same as last month. Perhaps we'll survive."

"Thanks for the confidence Captain!" Tammy joked as she shook her head and grabbed her broom. "But their Seeker hasn't fully recovered yet from their last match and their reserve apparently has been fooling around with their Keeper, because she's got the Dragon Pox too."

A huge grin broke onto Gwenog's face. "No reserve Seeker, eh? How about we show them what we're made of then?"

* * *

We won.

It's as simple as that. We won the match after an hour of excruciating agony. The Snitch didn't show and their Keeper really was as good as Gwenog had predicted. But since Rachel's pretty good too, we mostly were waiting for the Snitch to show up. It must have been one of the most boring matches ever played.

But we couldn't care less. We won! We'd gotten into the finals!

Which meant that we were in a very celebratory mood on Sunday, when the infamous England National Quidditch Team Celebratory Ball would be held.

The party was mainly being given to present the possible National Team. Broadmoor thought it'd be nice, which is an excellent example of why you shouldn't get too many Bludger related injuries. But still, it meant that everybody who tried out was officially invited and was allowed to bring three guests. Seeing as Tammy wouldn't have anything to do and I would meet Harry there, I invited her. And when I wanted to invite Hermione, she told me she would already go with Ron and Harry. I couldn't possibly come with only one guest, so (against better judgement, I swear! Even Angelina hadn't invited Fred (even though they were back together again) when she too was allowed to bring guests!) I invited the twins.

Yes, well, blame me later, all right?

Tammy and I decided to go together and I thought Harry and I would not really be able to miss each other, since the party could never be that big. I realized how wrong I could be once we arrived. It seemed as if the whole of Quidditching England had been invited. What did I say, England? I mean the World!

Tammy was immediately looking around with a Fred-and-George look on her face.

"No," was the first thing I said when she opened her mouth to speak.

"Oh come on!" she almost begged. "We can have so much fun here! Think about it, messing with people's minds only to let them blame it on drinking too much."

"Are you sure _you_ haven't been drinking already?"

"Ginny! It would be fun! These parties are always boring and everybody will want to congratulate us for some stupid reason like getting through to the semi-finals."

At that moment I saw Rita Skeeter walk by. Who invited her? Surely the wizard who sent the invitations had been attacked by a mob of Pygmy Puffs and couldn't therefore be judged for his actions, which, unfortunately, included inviting _her_.

"You know what?" I asked as I tore my eyes away from Skeeter. "I reckon a little fun is just what this place needs."

* * *

"Someone's ogling you," Tammy whispered in my ear while she hugged me. She had been walking around to see who had accepted their invitation and were currently attending the ball.

"Wha-?" I managed to choke out. What was she talking about? Surely nobody wanted to look at me _here_! And certainly not in that way! But Tammy just nodded in the direction she'd come from and I turned around, curious, only to find Harry standing there, gaping like a fish. I smiled, waved, made a mental note to find him later on to make sure he fulfilled his part of the deal and turned back to Tammy. "So, who's ogling me?" I asked curiously.

"You were just waving at him," she smiled knowingly. "So, where's this Skeeter-woman? I'm quite in the mood for a new wave of tittle-tattle to take over the wizarding world."

Why did I ever agree with her to play this stupid masquerade?

"Harry does not ogle," I stated after a moment.

"Oh but he does," Tammy said knowingly, "Now seriously, where _is_ that Skeeter-woman? I really want to make up some new gossip."

I heard a chuckle leave my mouth, but turned instantly serious. "Harry would never look at me that way. At anybody, for that matter."

"You know," she sighed. "For someone who keeps telling everybody that you're over him, you sure have a way of making every conversation about him."

I glared at her and felt my temper get the better of me. "Well, I _am_ over him. I gave up on him ages ago!"

"Ah…the magic word!" she grinned. "You _gave_ _up_. But you're no fun like this. I'll go and see if I can torture Harry some more." And with those words she disappeared into the crowd. She couldn't…she wouldn't! Would she?

Ah…but she would…

Harry looked startled when Tammy walked up to him, but his expression soon changed into an angered one. What was that about?

Apparently he and Tammy were having quite a row…even though it seemed to be coming more from Harry's side than Tammy's. What on earth was going on there?

"Hi Ginny!"

Confused, I turned around to see Hermione standing there. "Oh! Hello Hermione…you wouldn't know what's going on with Harry, would you?" I motioned towards Harry and Tammy.

She looked in the direction I had been nodding at and started to smile. "I don't really know, but if he would tell anybody, it would be you," she answered.

What was that supposed to mean? I looked at her, bemused, but she simply smiled a little more knowingly and nodded in the direction where Harry was standing. I saw Tammy leave him as I turned around.

"I'll just ask him, shall I?" I said a little bewildered.

"You do that," Hermione smiled and the next moment she had disappeared into the crowds.

"Looking good, Gin," he said as he eyed me up when I had arrived. Like with the whole 'ogling'-thing, Harry does _not_ eye people up. Especially when I'm concerned.

So I answered very suspiciously, "Flattery won't get you out of this, Potter. Especially since you wanted to set me up with one of the members of a certain Malfoy-family."

"I'm not trying to get out of this," he smiled. "I wouldn't want to miss spending a night with a very attractive witch."

I kept looking at him very warily and said, "Who are you and what have you done with Harry? Oh no, you haven't accepted anything from the twins, have you? I knew I shouldn't have invited them!"

"Come on, Gin," he laughed as he grabbed my arm, "I have a bet to fulfil."

* * *

We had fun.

We laughed during the dances, especially when Harry tried to twirl me around and failed miserably. Well, at least he didn't try to step on my toes…He didn't really seem embarrassed about not being able to dance and didn't complain when I started taking lead. A few times I saw Tammy's reserve shooting daggers at me with her eyes, but both Harry and I couldn't care less. After a few dances, however, we both had had enough and went to get something to drink.

"So the girlfriend isn't jealous?" I asked jokingly.

"Nah," he grinned, "She's sitting at home, reading. She doesn't really like to dance, actually. Well, couldn't blame her when I'm her dance partner."

"At least you don't step on anyone's toes," I tried to sound compassionate.

"Yes, and I thank whoever is responsible for that."

"So…any secret tactics I should know of for your next match?" I asked casually.

"Nice try, Weasley," he smirked, "But I'm not giving out details this close to the match. You'll just have to wait and see like everyone else."

"Talking to the enemy, Potter?" Wood appeared next to us.

"She's not the enemy, Wood," Harry smiled, "She's my date."

Oh. Okay.

"Did you tell her that?" Wood said after noticing my astonished face.

Harry laughed. Whatever happened to him sure was an improvement. He looked so much different than when he was fighting Voldemort. Back then he'd been so serious…Perhaps Quidditch _is_ a better career than being an Auror…

"I lost a bet," Harry explained, "She thought she was a better Seeker than me and apparently she was right."

Wood gaped at me as if I had made his world turn upside down.

"He isn't infallible, you know…" I tried to explain while rolling my eyes.

"Yes, he is!" Wood exclaimed. Oh bugger…what did I do? Why did I even start this stupid bet? I looked at Harry who mouthed that he would take care of it, so I went to find Tammy. A little 'confusing Rita Skeeter'-time might be just what I needed.

* * *

Wherever I went during the rest of the evening, Harry was watching me. When I went to get a drink, Harry was following me with his eyes. When I was talking to someone, Harry was observing me. Both what Tammy had told me and how Harry had acted around me soon became very confusing, as my thoughts seemed to wander to Harry rather than staying with the person I was talking to.

Okay, so maybe my thoughts wander towards Harry most of the time, no matter what I do. But this time he actually was acting as if…well…I don't know! I know I lured him into taking me as his date, but after an hour I'd had enough of all of this and decided to go and confront Harry. This wasn't a date anymore; this was him stalking me everywhere I went!

It wasn't that difficult to find him (as he seemed to be stalking me and stalking usually meant being near to the person being stalked). It was almost as if he desperately wanted to be found (hence the stalking). For a moment I thought he was back to his brooding self, but then he smiled smugly at me and I felt my Weasley temper flare right back up.

"Oy! Potter!" I yelled when it looked as if he would disappear again. The next moment, however, he was standing in front of me, still looking far too smug for his own good.

"Hullo Ginny," he said, "Let's get out of here."

"You're bloody mental, you know that?" I said, irritated. "You've been following me and looking at me all evening!"

"Yes, I have," he admitted, smiling, "We _are_, after all, on a date…" But if he reckoned he could get away with it that easily, he was wrong. I didn't have best friends like Hermione and Tammy without a reason. We _don't_ let people get away with things.

"You're a brainless, stupid git!" I was really frustrated and wanted to get it all out of me. "For nine years you simply ignore me and now you reckon it's time to start noticing me? To start following me around wherever I go? To keep your eyes on me as if I'm your property? Because you know, Potter, I'm not. I have never been your property and I never will be."

I noticed we were someplace quieter. When did we get here? And why didn't he react to what I'd said? It _was_ his turn. _He_ wanted to get away from the crowd and into this…what was this?

No…he wouldn't dare…A broom cupboard?

I felt my anger flare right up again. "What is this place, a broom cupboard? You know, for the most powerful wizard in the world you sure have a lack of imagination! Don't even think you…"

"If you continue, I'll have to do a Ron and Hermione on you," he shut me up. I looked at him, confused. What _was_ he talking about?

"I'll kiss you to shut you up," he explained with a smile.

If somebody had heard my thoughts, they would have admitted me to St. Mungo's, because I had an undisclosed amount of voices talking to me…

_You're already quiet, so he doesn't have to kiss you_, voice number one said._ Harry Potter wants to kiss you!_ voice number two squealed…I shut that one up quite effectively by letting voice number three take over, _It's all a joke. He'll laugh and it will be over. _That voice agreed with number four, _You're dreaming. In a few moments you'll wake up and all of this was a dream._

Well…at least that's what I would have heard had I not been otherwise engaged in kissing Harry. Merlin, he can kiss!

"And what would your girlfriend think of this, Mr. Potter?" I asked softly after a few moments. "Surely this'll make her jealous."

"I wouldn't know," he smirked. "Are _you_ jealous?"

Bloody hell…that didn't mean what I thought it meant, did it?

"And to think I could've had this sooner," he sighed. "I really _am_ a prat."

"Yes, you are," I agreed.

He looked at me cheekily. Who had ever thought Harry Potter to be cheeky? "Well, let's make up for the lost time, shall we?"

I could definitely get used to this.

* * *

**A/N:** So, happy now? And before you push the button for the next chapter, push the other one with 'review'... 


	11. Overprotective siblings

**A/N:** Yay! The second part of the ball! And so soon:)

Usual disclaimer applies and another big thanks to KD!

Oh, and I love your reviews! I hadn't logged in for quite some time and when I went online to put these chapters up, I suddenly had 13 new reviews. That was very nice.

* * *

Overprotective siblings

I couldn't believe Harry'd actually _kissed_ me. Ickle Ginny, his best friend's little sister. Apparently, it had been quite a spur of the moment thing, but he didn't seem to be regretting it.

"Hey Gin," he said softly. "Shouldn't we get back to the party?"

I looked up at him and had to resist the urge to grab him and kiss the living daylights out of him. "Do you _want_ to go back?" I asked as innocently as I could possibly be.

"Well," he smiled, "Seeing as I'm trying out for the Seeking position and you're trying out for a Chasing position and we're playing against each other in a month…oh, I don't know, I reckon we will be missed, don't you?"

"Maybe…" I said. I bit my lip and saw Harry look at me like this time it was _him_ who had to resist the urge to kiss me. So I smiled and moved my mouth to his ear, "You _can_ kiss me now, you know," and I pressed my lips softly to his.

He groaned. "We should go back, you know," he said in between kisses, "Ron is walking around. He'll notice you've gone missing. You know Ron…"

I pulled back. He sure had a way to make a girl come back to earth. "Yes, Harry, I _do_ know Ron," I sighed. Ron and I had this unwritten agreement to look after each other. He hadn't really been affected by my other brothers to ignore me as much as possible when I was younger. Of course this was mostly due to the fact that he and I were of almost the same age and therefore could always be found together. So as we grew up, we looked after each other. I made sure Mum wouldn't find out he was flying on Dad's old broomstick and he let me borrow his clothes every time Mum dressed me up in some pretty pink dress. I didn't let him get away with stealing cookies that Mum had just baked; he nicked my favourite doll when he wanted me to do something for him.

Over all, we had this 'I let you do your thing, you let me do my thing'-policy

When we both were at Hogwarts, things had changed. Ron was always hanging out with Harry and Hermione and wasn't used to my presence anymore. I wanted to be part of his group (especially because he was best mates with Harry Potter. Harry Potter!), but Ron wouldn't let me. So I wrote all my frustrations down in a diary…

…And we all know how that ended, don't we?

I didn't tell Ron about Michael, since I knew he would protect me once more. In the end it was I who did the protecting when I dumped the stupid git.

With Dean, it was different. Dean was a roommate of Ron's. They had known each other for five years. Ron knew that Dean was a decent bloke. Still, once I went out with him, Dean couldn't do a thing right. This was the first time Ron started to act protective (really protective…with Michael…that was nothing)…to say that it irritated me to no end would be an understatement. I was so glad when Ron hooked up with Lavender, because this meant that I could get back at him for not noticing Hermione (How could he not? It was so obvious that all the other Gryffindors had stopped betting on Ron and Hermione getting together because they got frustrated about it not happening…and losing so much money since in the end Harry and I won) and being a stupid prat to Dean about his relationship with me.

So, every time I saw him during his so-called 'relationship' with Lavender, I ignored him, dropped subtle hints (which obviously had no use since Ron isn't one for subtlety) or got into searing rows with him.

Finally (finally!) he broke up with Lavender…not that I believe Ron could ever gather up the courage to break up with anybody. In my opinion, she dumped him. But Ron insists it was he who dumped her…I don't seem to be able to get the truth out of either Harry or Hermione.

Still, both Ron and I were without a significant other and we called a truce. Because when Dumbledore died and Ron and Hermione kind of comforted each other, I took Ron apart.

"Oh no," he said immediately, "You're not going to hex me because I happen to like Hermione."

I sighed exasperatedly. "She's my best friend. As long as you treat her right, it's ok. You deserve each other. You deserve to be happy."

He looked at me a bit suspiciously. "No yelling? No telling me I should leave you live your life so you can leave me live my life? No Bat-Bogey Hex?"

"How about a deal," I answered. "I let you live your life and you let me live my life. No more intimidating the boyfriend."

"Who?" he started, sounding protective again.

"Hey, I'm okay with you and Hermione, you should be okay with anybody I choose. Understood?"

"Fine," he conceded. "So, who is it?"

"Oh Ron," I said, patting his arm. "You of all people will be the first to know when I manage to get a new boyfriend."

But next thing I knew, we were at war. Harry, Ron and Hermione were gone to do Merlin knows what; Mum, Dad, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George were working for the Order; Percy fought with the Ministry (apparently undercover for the Order) and all of us who stayed at home (me) were left in the dark about everything. I worked very hard at Hogwarts to learn as much as possible for my Healer career and possibly the final battle. But that meant that I didn't have the tiniest bit of time to even _look_ for a boyfriend. I actually had forgotten about the agreement between Ron and I, but maybe it was good that I'd made it. I'm rather fond of my brother and I wouldn't like to see him hexed into little bits simply because he dared to attack Harry in order to protect his little sister.

So I smiled at Harry. "Let's get back to the party. I'm not too ruffled up, am I?"

He grinned, "You're perfect," which got him a glare from my part. It was okay for him to be dishevelled. He always looked dishevelled, even when he had done his hair. It simply wouldn't lay flat. So I muttered a spell and took a look in the mirror I'd just conjured. "Sure Harry, I'm perfect…" I softly said another spell and looked in the mirror again. Much better.

"Ready?" he said with a grin on his face.

"As ready as I ever will be to face the wrath of my brother," I sighed jokingly. I opened the door a little and saw no one around. We slipped out of the cupboard and walked towards the party in a comfortable silence. This was Harry. The bloke I've had a crush on since forever. The only one that knew me for who I really was. The one that was now tracing patterns in the palm of my hand with his finger.

"You'll have to stop doing that," I smiled, "Or everybody will know you and I are together."

"And that's a problem because…?"

"Because we're trying out for the same team and this will be very forbidden once we are on said same team. Oh, and we are on opposite teams in the finals of the British Quidditch League, which my team is going to win, by the way."

"Cocky much?" he arched an eyebrow. "But don't worry…I wont let you get kicked off the team."

I couldn't help but laugh. I'd reckoned it would've been awkward to be with Harry once I would work up the courage to kiss him, but it wasn't. It was more like as if it had been awkward all those years before, and now everything was perfect.

"Oh, there's Ron…" he said as he intertwined his fingers with mine and sent another chill down my spine.

Ron was walking toward us with a weird look on his face. As if he wasn't sure whether he should be happy or angry. Apparently I wasn't the only one who'd forgotten our little agreement.

"What are you planning on doing with my sister, Potter?" he said seriously.

"Shut it, Ron," I answered before Harry could, "I'm an adult, and I can do whatever I want. Remember what I told you when you hooked up with Hermione?"

"Ginny, he's been ignoring you for ten years!" Ron exclaimed.

"Nine years," I corrected, "And he hasn't." I was perfectly aware I had accused Harry of exactly the same thing a few moments before, but that didn't matter now. "We have been friends for the better parts of those nine years."

"Well," Ron turned to Harry and for a moment I was scared he would punch him. But then he laughed and continued, "It has taken you long enough, mate, just don't break her heart, will you? She still has six brothers."

I rolled my eyes. As if my other brothers would have the courage to take it up with Harry! Fred and George wouldn't own the shop if it weren't for Harry. It was Harry who accepted Percy's apology first (well, of course Mum welcomed Percy back first, Harry was the second one), even though he had a perfectly good reason to act like he had done. After Harry, the rest of the family followed. Yes, even I had not been very convinced until Harry forgave Percy. Charlie's never here and has heard too many stories about Harry's amazing acts of bravery to question his plans with me. And for Bill…well, wasn't it when he came to see Harry for the final task of the Tournament that he met Fleur?

"So where's Hermione?" I asked sweetly, "Wasn't she talking to Viktor Krum?"

Ron paled visibly, muttered something about having to see his fiancée and turned around to walk away.

"You're evil," I heard Harry snicker next to me. And indeed I was. Viktor couldn't make it tonight and wasn't even here. Hermione was probably sitting somewhere with Angelina…talking about the impossibility of the Weasley men in their lives.

"We could leave, you know," he said, suddenly serious. Wasn't he the one that wanted to return to the party? So I just smiled at him. He really was sweet when he looked like that.

"No, we couldn't," I kept smiling, "We have to be here for at least an hour longer." He sighed and pressed a kiss in my hair.

"I should have known the Boy Who Lived could get any girl he wanted," A joyful voice interrupted us. I looked around Harry and saw one of his team members standing there. Wasn't it John?

"Hi John," Harry said, his arm still firmly around my middle.

"So you gathered up your courage and used the good old Harry-trick?" he grinned. I raised an eyebrow. What?

"Yes, I did," Harry smiled a little knowingly.

Okay, this was getting out of hand. What on earth was going on here? Someone had better tell me soon what was going on or I would try very hard to remember my good old Bat-Bogey Hex. Despite what everyone apparently thinks, it's been a very long time since I last used that hex.

"So," John turned to me, "I don't think we've met, Virginia. I'm John Beutel." He offered me his hand.

It was very difficult not to burst out laughing then and there. Virginia?

"She's called Ginevra, John." The humour in Harry's voice was evident. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, didn't her brothers tell you?"

I turned to Harry, "Which…oh no, not Fred and George again! I _knew_ I shouldn't have invited them…I'm going to kill them!" I turned to John. "It was Fred and George, right? The ones who told you I was called Virginia. I'm so going to kill them…"

"Come on, Gin," Harry laughed. "You have to admit it was funny."

"It bloody wasn't!" I said hotly. "They have absolutely no right to tell the whole world I'm called Virginia. They're _my_ brothers and even if you're a surrogate Weasley, you can't help them."

And with that I turned around and went to look for my brothers. Behind me, I heard John say, "I assume you've known her longer than just tonight, haven't you?"

Harry just chuckled in response.

* * *

It wasn't very hard to find the twins. As I had predicted, Hermione was talking to Angelina and Fred and George were standing nearby. Every now and then, Fred would glance over at the two girls to see if Angelina was still there.

"So," I said as I stood before them. "Fred, George."

They both winced when they saw me.

"I reckon she's angry," Fred muttered to George, who nodded in agreement.

"What can we help you with, oh sister of ours?" George took over. "Triple W merchandise? Pranks to help Harry notice you? We still have those love potions, you know…"

"You sodding gits!" I exclaimed, becoming furious with astonishingly fast speed. "Why are you telling people that I'm called Virginia? I hate that name!"

"Yeah, but then again, you hate Ginevra too," Fred grinned. I glared at him. "Okay…no more telling other people you're called Virginia. Got it, don't we George?"

George nodded energetically. They were being too easy to convince and since I really didn't want to be part of a bigger prank…no…

"What did you do to Harry?" I asked very suspiciously.

Fred and George looked at each other, surprise evident on their faces.

"What are you talking about?" the latter asked.

"Harry. You know, surrogate Weasley, known for vanquishing old Lord Voldemort ever since he was a baby, best friend of your youngest brother…"

"…bloke that owns your dreams," Fred interrupted me cheekily.

"We haven't done anything to Harry, Ginny," George said quickly when he saw the look on my face. "We talked to that Cannons Chaser who seemed a tad too interested in you. We told him you were engaged so he would back off, okay?"

"Really?" I asked, still very suspiciously.

"Weasley honour," Fred nodded, holding out his hand like we used to do when we were little and wanted to let the others know we were telling the truth. Mum came up with it and added a charm to it, so she would always know when we were telling the truth. Funny things happen when you're being dishonest and the twins know that only all too well.

"Alright…" I said.

"So…" Fred started.

"What was this concern for our favourite surrogate Weasley?" George continued.

"Nothing that you two should know about," I stated firmly.

"You hear that, George? Nothing we _should_ know about…" Fred turned to George.

"How about we _want to_ know about it?" he nodded.

I looked around and saw Hermione and Angelina looking at us. "Hi Hermione, Angelina!" I waved happily and started to walk towards them.

But Fred and George caught up easily. "Oh no, you don't!" Fred said. "What's going on between you and Harry?"

"Oh you told them!" Hermione said. I tried frantically to let her know with all my mind power that she shouldn't tell anybody about the change in the relationship between Harry and me, but it was obvious that Legilimency was one brand of magic Hermione wasn't good at. "Ron just told us, I'm so happy for you and Harry!" She engulfed me in a hug and Angelina was simply beaming.

"No…" Fred said shocked to George.

"You don't reckon she's fulfilled her lifetime accomplishment, do you?" George asked in obvious fake astonishment.

"It would make Mum very happy," Fred shrugged. "Harry as an actual Weasley."

"Nah…Ginny would become a Potter," George corrected him. "Though Ginevra Molly Potter-Weasley does have a ring to it…"

"You both are just terrible, sodding prats!" I said furiously as I rolled my eyes and disappeared into the crowd. Hermione and Angelina would explain everything.

* * *

"Hey beautiful," I heard Harry sneak up on me. I had managed to avoid every possible family member, friend, acquaintance and what more for an hour as to avoid questions about Harry and me. Hey, I didn't even know yet where this whole thing had taken us, although I must admit that Harry seemed very keen about becoming my boyfriend for some reason. And now he raked his arms around my waist and asked… "Shall we go home?"

"Mmhm," I said noncommittally.

"Gin…" he said softly in my ear, his tone demanding an answer.

"You can drop me off, if you want to," I said whilst turning around to face him, "But I'm not going to your place and you're not coming to mine."

"Gin…" he begged softly.

"You live in the same apartment as my brother, Harry," I said decidedly.

He sighed and I felt a smile creep up on my face. "But we can _walk_ there."

His face lit up. "I like the way your brain works, miss Weasley," he grinned and he intertwined his fingers with mine as we started walking out of there. It was so comfortable to just be with him. We weren't talking, but that wasn't necessary either.

"Are you sure?" I heard him ask after a moment. I really should start paying attention to him and not drift away in that nice little dream world I have.

"About what?" I asked back.

"About coming over to my place."

I slapped him playfully against his arm. "Do you still live with Ron?"

"Gin…" he whined softly, "You know he's over at Hermione's!"

"Can you tell me for certain?"

He sighed and put his arm around my shoulders. "Not really, no…"

"It's just that you never really noticed me before…" I said and I placed my head on his shoulder. I wasn't mad at him. I just wasn't ready yet.

He placed a kiss on my head, but didn't really say anything. We just continued walking, still in that comfortable silence.

"When I first came to your house in the summer," he suddenly started speaking, "You were so shy around me. And when it suddenly stopped, I missed it."

I snorted and he laughed, "Don't get me wrong! It was very nice to be able to talk to you without you putting your elbow in a butter dish." I looked up at him, smiling, and he continued, "But I missed the blushing and the clumsiness and…yes, I admit it, I even missed the butter dish. I thought it was cute."

"You think the most embarrassing period in my life was cute?" I asked disbelievingly.

He grinned, "I still think it's cute."

"You know that won't get you into my knickers, right?" I smiled wickedly.

"But Gin…" he whined.

"We're almost at my place," I ignored him. "I had fun tonight, Harry."

"I'll owl you tomorrow so we can get together for lunch," he said.

"Oh…" I crunched up my face, remembering about practice. "I have practice at three."

"Oh bollocks," he muttered. "I have practice until one."

"You had a party tonight!" I exclaimed.

He laughed at the look on my face. "Only John, Wood and I were here. And they were smart enough to actually leave early."

"Well, don't let me keep you from your sleep," I winked. But before I could continue, he kissed me. I seriously wanted to throw all reason out of my mind and invite him over. But I still had practice next day…

So I did the _sodding_ right thing and pulled back… "I'll see you around…" and entered my apartment.

* * *

**A/N:** Tomorrow is my birthday...what would be a better present than to review? 


	12. He's not my bloody, oh wait

**A/N:** What's that? An update? Why yes indeed, it is! Thanks to KD for betaing this (and reminding me that I shouldn't write, but study for exams that are coming up). Enjoy it while it lasts, because I actually have to study for some very difficult exams, so I don't know how soon next chapter will be posted.

Thank you so much for your reviews...I _loved_ them! You lot rock! Seriously.

Now...on with the story!

* * *

He's not my bloody…oh wait…

I awoke from a tapping noise at the window. _Bloody owls_! It was way too early for anything to be awake, even those stupid, _effing_ owls! I groaned and pulled myself out of bed to open the window. Hedwig was staring back at me and I blinked a few times. Why would Harry send Hedwig to me at…what was it? 8 o'clock? Flashes of the night before came to my mind and suddenly I was awake. Harry had actually sent me an owl!

"Hey girl," I said, taking the letter from her, "Come with me to the kitchen; I'll give you some bacon." Yes, I'd finally knocked some sense into Tammy so we could have bacon for breakfast.

She nibbled my finger affectionately and flew towards the kitchen. I followed her, opening the letter as I was walking…

_Hey Gin!_

_I had serious trouble waking up this morning. If only my stunningly good-looking girlfriend had been here to keep me awake all night so I couldn't oversleep…_

_Only kidding! No need to send flying bogeys at me. Well, that would mean I'd have to see you, so perhaps you could come over…let's say at half past one o'clock? At the Leaky Cauldron? Send Hedwig back with your answer._

_Love,_

_Harry_

I stared at the parchment for a moment to make sure what I was reading was real. _Stunningly good-looking girlfriend? Love, Harry_? I bit my lip smiling, grabbed a quill and a spare bit of parchment and wrote a quick answer on it.

"Hedwig," I said with the parchment in my hand, "Can you bring this back to Harry?" She hooted. "Thanks, girl," I said, scratching her head. I attached the letter and she flew away.

Merlin's beard, what should I wear?

* * *

I was tapping nervously on the table with my fingers. Every now and then a customer would glare at me and I would stop…only to continue a few moments later. It really was my fault; I shouldn't have come early. I knew how long Quidditch practices could take. And I was fairly certain he would want to take a nice, long shower before meeting me. But I still was getting quite nervous. 

"Hello gorgeous," I heard that o so familiar voice behind me.

"Right back at you," I grinned as I turned around to kiss him.

"Hmm," he said, still holding me, "Are you sure you want to eat? Because I'd rather do something else right now."

"You wouldn't want your _stunningly good-looking girlfriend_ to practice this afternoon on an empty stomach, now would you?" I smirked.

"You always were smarter than me." He pecked me on my nose and sat down next to me. "So, ready to order yet?"

I bit my lip and looked at the menu. I actually had no idea… "So you don't reckon this is a mistake?" I blurted out after a moment. I had been thinking about it (and gotten little sleep because of it) last night. What if it _had_ been a joke? What if the twins _had _slipped him a love potion? What if…

"Do you?" he interrupted my thoughts with a raised eyebrow.

"No," I said quickly. "No, no mistake…not at all. But…you're Harry Potter. I don't know if you've noticed, but I kind of had this _huge_ crush on you when I was younger." And it never really stopped, if you want to believe Bill. And the twins. Oh, and Percy. And maybe Ron and Charlie too…

"You did, did you?" Harry grinned. I slapped him playfully on his arm and he grabbed my hand.

A flash went off somewhere next to us and I saw Harry cringe. "I'm sorry," he said as he started to pull away, "This always happens."

"Yes, well," I said decidedly, "What did _you_ think would happen when two national Quidditch players start holding hands in public."

Harry looked up at me in amazement and I smiled. Did he really think I would use the Boy Who Lived card?

"So I understand if you want to break up with me because I'm too famous," I sighed, "I won't like it, but I'll understand."

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said in admiration.

I smirked, "I try."

He leaned over the table to kiss me again and another flash went off.

"Perfect!" Harry groaned, "Just perfect, come on." He grabbed my hand, dropped some gold on the table and pulled me outside. We weren't even outside when he Apparated us. And before we had arrived, he kissed me.

"I missed you," he muttered against my lips.

"Hmmm," I smiled contentedly, "Of course you did."

He grinned and kissed me again.

"So, where are…" I said after a while, looking around, "Is this the paddock behind the Burrow?"

Harry's cheeks turned a little pink. Funny how he can vanquish the darkest wizard of all time, but when he has to face the fury of a Weasley woman, he starts to blush.

"I thought you would like to tell your parents before they read it in the paper," he said, still blushing.

Before I could even comment on his apparent fear for my mother, he continued, "The paparazzi will think we went to your place. Or mine…but they'll never think we are here to tell your parents."

Well…maybe he _did_ vanquish a Dark Lord. He sure can still think in tactics.

He grabbed my hand again and pulled me to the kitchen.

"Harry, Ginny!" Mum cried, "What a surprise!"

"Gin has some news," Harry smiled.

I glared at him…it was his news too! So I sighed, turned to Mum and said, "There might be some pictures in the Prophet tomorrow of me and my boyfriend…"

"A boyfriend?" Mum asked, immediately interested. "Why isn't he here so we can meet him?"

"Yes, Gin," Harry grinned, "Why haven't you brought your good-for-nothing-boyfriend to explain everything?"

I glared at him again, "Because he's a prat and very famous. Well, that's the reason I'm with him, actually. I'll get more fame with him."

"Ginevra!" Mum exclaimed. Harry didn't look very pleased either. Served him right…

"And what does your _boyfriend_ think of that?" he spat.

"He may very well think whatever he wants," I spat back, "He's a stupid prat for thinking I only want to stay with him because he's famous! He needs to stop thinking people only like him because he vanquished a big old wizard. I'm with you, Harry, not the Boy Who Lived!"

Harry didn't get a chance to react, because Mum had pulled us into a hug and screamed (yes, she screamed), "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Well," I sighed, "We were at the Leaky Cauldron and at least two pictures have been taken. So they'll be all over the papers to…bugger! I have to go!" My eyes had wandered over towards Mum's marvellous clock, which read 'Ginny --- late'. Harry smiled apologetically and I kissed him softly. If Mum hadn't believed me before, she would now. So I quickly turned to say goodbye to Mum and Disapparated.

* * *

"So, how's the boyfriend?" Evy asked as we were flying in the air. 

"How many times do I have to tell you lot I don't have a bloody…" I started. Oh, wait. I _do_ have a boyfriend! Harry Potter…hard to forget, actually.

Unfortunately, Evy understood this too. "You do?" she beamed.

"I always took you for the confirmed bachelor," Natalie said thoughtfully.

"So, who is it?" Evy asked eagerly.

"Harry!" Tammy yelled as she zoomed by in pursuit of the Snitch.

"Figures," Evy and Natalie said in unison. Hello! I'm still right here!

"So," Natalie flew a little closer, "How'd you do it? The good old batting-with-the-eyelashes? Or was it more a pouting-lips tactic?"

"Actually, it was more of a yelling-at-him-for-being-a-stupid-prat thing," I said a little sarcastically. _They_ don't have to know it's the truth…

"Oh, but Harry Potter!" Evy said excited, "He's the most eligible bachelor of whole wizarding Britain! He vanquished You-Know-Who!"

"No," I corrected her simply, "He's Harry, my brother's best mate."

"We really ought to talk about your taste in men," Natalie sighed.

"Oy! Weasley, Vandermark, Eads! Practice started thirty minutes ago!" Gwenog yelled at us.

"We're gossiping about Ginny's new boyfriend!" Evy yelled back.

"After practice!" Gwenog shouted.

Unfortunately, my luck didn't last once we were out of the air. I was the first in the showers, but the rest of the team followed swiftly. It's times like these when I want to hex myself for getting on an all-girl team.

"So, a boyfriend, eh?" Meredith asked me.

"Yes," I sighed, "It's not that big of a deal, really."

Tammy, Evy and Natalie turned their heads towards me, "Sure," Tammy started, "So it wasn't you who came out of…"

"Oh, I'm ready," I grinned. "Big appointment. I really must hurry." I shot out of the showers and grabbed my stuff. I'm positive I've never dressed that quickly ever in my life. Still, we were all athletes and the other girls knew how to hurry.

"Come on, Ginny!" Rachel almost begged. "Tell us something!"

"I really must go," I said as I opened the door. I took one step out of the locker rooms and saw Harry standing casually against the opposite wall.

"Hi," he smiled. "How's practice?"

"They all want to know who my ruggedly handsome boyfriend is," I smirked, "And they're listening at the other side of the door."

"Are they now?" he grinned, "And what did you tell them?"

"I might have slipped something about the most eligible bachelor of the wizarding world…or at least Britain."

"And what did they say?"

"They are going to give me advice in my choice of men."

"Oh?"

"Yes. But I don't think I'll need it. I think I've found the perfect man already, so why would I want to look further?"

Harry grinned and kissed me. I could _so_ get used to this!

Loud whooping cheers erupted from behind us. We parted reluctantly and I saw the rest of my team grinning broadly.

"Harry Potter, huh?" Rachel grinned.

"Why yes, I am indeed," Harry smiled, "But you'll have to excuse us, we have a big appointment." And before I could even _look_ at him to ask what on earth he was talking about (we never made an appointment to even _see_ each other after practice! We'd just been together for lunch!), I felt that familiar sensation of Apparating.

"Harry James Potter!" I yelled as we materialized, "You could have warn…is this Grimmauld Place? But you've got an apartment! You've been living there with Ron!"

Harry shrugged, "Well, yes, but he'll be moving in with Hermione soon. Or they'll want to move into our apartment. Besides, we've done some remodelling to the Headquarters. I even managed to get Sirius' Mum off the wall!" He pointed to a very blank spot on the wall.

"You mean Hermione got it off."

"Of course."

We looked silently at each other for a few moments. Then Harry broke the silence, "This is the only thing I've got from Sirius that I can see or touch or something," he said thoughtfully. "He wouldn't want me to mope around and I know he hated this place and I did too, but I dunno…it reminds me of him." He chuckled softly and turned to look at me (I hadn't even realized he had turned away from me) when I took his hand in mine, "I've even managed to restore that stupid tree…"

I smiled at him, which he obviously saw as a sign to show me around, because the rest of the afternoon he showed me the work he had done with Ron and Hermione.

He explained that during their Horcrux hunt, they came back here to regain energy. It was still heavily guarded with all kinds of spells and now that the Secret Keeper was dead, they didn't have to worry about Voldemort finding out where the Headquarters were.

It had all started with Hermione who perused the library for useful books. She continued the work we'd begun when we were spending the summer there and made the library liveable. The next time they returned, they started to work on the next room and once Voldemort was vanquished, at least three quarters of Grimmauld Place had been cleaned out and repainted. Harry simply continued and finished it afterwards. As he told me, he'd made it 'a place Sirius would be proud to live in'.

* * *

One week after the celebrated England National Quidditch Team Celebratory Ball, coach Morris came with a new idea for practice. It was an open one, so everybody could come and watch and I had this strange feeling that Harry would come with half of the other Cannon's players. 

"We're going to do something else," coach Morris said as we stood around him with our brooms. I looked at Tammy who simply shrugged. "We're going to play each other's positions." No… "You'll get a special insight in your teammates' flying and learn from them. You have five minutes to quarrel about who gets which position. After that, I want everyone up in the air."

"I name Ginny for Seeker!" Tammy said before anyone could open his or her mouths to speak.

"Wha-?" I started, but Rachel was quicker, "I think that's a wonderful idea! Can I be a Beater?"

"Oh!" Gwenog said, "Then I want to be a Chaser."

"I want to Keep!" Natalie beamed excitedly.

"But I wanted to Keep too," Tammy pouted, "Well, I suppose I also can Chase…"

"Good," Evy grinned, "Then I'll be the other Beater."

"I reckon I don't really have a choice but be the last Chaser, do I?" Meredith said thoughtfully.

"And what if I don't _want_ to play Seeker?" I said exasperated.

"Too bad," Tammy smirked, "That's the only position left. The only ones willing to trade, play Chaser and you can't choose that position."

"Fine!" I muttered as I shot up in the air.

Morris was already waiting for us and actually looked pleased that we'd decided so quickly, "Since I don't think it will do you a lot of good to practice these positions, you have half an hour to get used to them before we start a scrimmage against the reserves. The first team to catch the Snitch or get two hundred and fifty points wins."

I snorted. No way was I going to be better than the reserve Seeker! She'd been practicing for almost a year! Probably even longer with some other team…and the last time _I_'d played Seeker was, well, in my fifth year at Hogwarts…

"Up to it, Weasley?" Clara Robbins, the reserve Seeker, asked me as I flew up next to her, "It's not at all like Chasing, you know."

I suddenly got very irritated with her. Just because I didn't play Seeker, didn't give her the right to act so…such…so…very much like _Phlegm_! In case she'd forgotten, she flew into a goal hoop at the tryouts! But then I realized this also meant she didn't know I've played Seeker before. Well, let's not shatter her dreams then! "Morris thought it'd be good for us, so I'll just try."

"If you want, I'll be soft," she said with a sympathetic tone in her voice. I really must introduce her to Phlegm sometime. If I haven't murdered her before…

"No," I said, trying very, very, _very_ hard to smile at her, "Everybody expects you to win. It would be weird if you'd lose from me, a Chaser."

She smiled sweetly. "Well, good luck then."

Can I throw her off her broom? Now?

I played as clumsily as I could while we were practicing, which ended up in understanding smiles from Robbins and baffled looks from Tammy who was actually doing quite a good job at Chasing.

After what looked like centuries, Morris blew his whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air to announce the beginning of the match. Quite a few people were already sitting in the stands as Julie immediately took possession of the Quaffle, flew straight towards Natalie and scored. Okay, this was going to be though…

"I've seen the papers, you know," _it_ said, trying to sound casually, but failing miserably, "About you and Harry Potter." The awe in her voice was even more obvious. Of course she would admire Harry, he's a sodding Seeker!

"Have you now?" I tried to sound nice, but I reckon I failed as miserably as she'd done just moments before.

"You didn't have to take this position just because your boyfriend is the best Seeker in the world."

Oh, please, don't let _me_ stop you from marrying him. I'm only his girlfriend!

"Yes, well, it was Tammy's idea…"

She gave me another compassionate look and I really wanted to do a Wronski Feint just to wipe that look off of her face. Not that I can pull off a Wronski Feint. I'm not _that_ good. Why d'you think I'm Chasing?

At least she stopped talking to me and started to bob up and down. It gave me the chance to scan the pitch for any sight of the Snitch…that, of course, wasn't there. Below us, the reserves were leading with forty to ten and just as I was watching, Lynette scored another goal. I groaned. Why did Natalie insist on Keeping? She's rubbish!

Suddenly, I saw that stupid cow accelerating towards the other end of the pitch from the corner of my eye. I looked up and tilted my head, wondering if she'd seen something I hadn't. But, no, the Snitch had yet to make its appearance, so I relaxed on my broom and watched the game below me, where Tammy was about to perform a perfect reverse pass. As she scored, I looked back at _her_ and saw her scowling at me for not falling for that stupid trick. Serves her right.

"Have you seen who just entered the stands?" she asked, the compassion in her voice replaced by something like hostility, as she returned next to me.

I looked at the stands and saw a very familiar mob of unruly black hair, next to a redhead. George?

"Your _boyfriend_," she spat the word out, "has come to see for himself that you're rubbish."

"Yes, well, I'm supposed to be rubbish, aren't I?" I rolled my eyes. A Bludger was heading for us and I simply dropped my broom a few feet. And then I saw it. And considering the fact that _Mary-Sue_ accelerated just as fast as I did, she'd seen it too. Just next to where Harry, George and coach Morris were sitting, the Snitch was hovering lazily in the air. We both sped forwards, straight through the game of the others (who, incidentally, had stopped playing and were watching us…well, the Chasers anyway), without any problem until somewhere halfway. At that moment, the Beaters seemed to have gotten their brains back, because I almost didn't see that Bludger coming. I ducked without slowing down and continued for the Snitch. We were so close that it would come back to who could snatch out their arm the fastest. And I wasn't sure it'd be me…

Then, out of the blue, another Bludger came racing towards us. We were both so engrossed in catching the Snitch that we didn't really see it coming until it was too late and we had to pull up. When I could turn back, the Snitch had disappeared. I quickly checked to see if _she_'d caught it and turned smiling to Harry when that wasn't the case.

He winked at me, grinning, and I returned to the game where the reserves were now leading with a hundred and ten to fifty. I really should catch that Snitch fast.

"Did you see Harry watching us?" she squealed, "I think he likes my technique."

I really had to keep myself from telling her to stuff it. If Harry had been looking at us, it would be because _I_ was playing, not because of _her_! But eventually I managed to choke out, "Of course."

"It's a pity Romeijn never gets injured," she continued squealing, "I reckon I could have won the Tornados' game."

I kept myself from snapping at her and saying it would have been no use, because we'd been playing like dragon dung. Even if Tammy had caught the Snitch, we'd have lost…when I saw something gold just behind her head. She started rambling about how perfect and everything she was (hem-_Phlegm­_-hem), just as the Snitch moved a little closer to her ear.

"Say," I said as I scooted closer to her, "weren't you looking for this?" And with a swift movement I grabbed the Snitch right from next to her ear before it could even think of escaping.

"Ginny caught the Snitch!" I heard Meredith yell below us as I grinned at Miss Cow.

"You'll do better next time," I patted her arm with my free hand, "That is, if you don't fly straight into a goal hoop." I turned around and flew back to the rest of the team, leaving her to herself.

"Good job, Ginny!" Meredith smiled.

"She deserved that," Rachel grinned, "We heard her talking when you two were coming back from chasing the Snitch."

We flew back to the ground where coach Morris was looking very ticked off about something, "Weasley, Robbins!" he yelled. Bloody hell, what did I do this time?

"Good to know that at least someone is paying attention to the game and _not_ at the spectators!" he said sternly.

Ballasting, buggering bollocks! Why did I smile at Harry? "Sir, I can explain," I said immediately.

"Never mind, Red," Morris said smiling, "I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Robbins. Flying into a goalpost at tryouts isn't enough for you? You had to be outflown by a Chaser without any experience whatsoever for Seeking? If that Bludger hadn't come your way, you'd lost from her. Well done, Red. Go shower with the rest. You too, Robbins."

That Phlegm wannabe looked at me with eyes that were shooting daggers as we walked to the locker rooms, "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" I said, "I've played Seeker for a year at Hogwarts and the year after I was reserve Seeker. So I wasn't exactly untrained."

"I looked like a fool," she muttered.

"Yes, well, it would help if you kept your attention on the game and not on the Bloody Boy Who Lived, also known as _my boyfriend_."

She rolled her eyes and took off for the locker rooms. Fine, if she wanted it _that_ way…

* * *

**A/N:** Lalala! I'm feeling very happy. How about some reviews to celebrate? 


	13. Complete difference

**A/N:** An update! Didn't see that coming, did you? Anyhow, my exams are finished (fortunately!) and I've got this nice little chapter for you.

Thank you so much for reviewing. We're nearing the 100 which I still can't believe, but in the meantime, I'm totally happy about it.

And thank you, KD, for betaing this!

...now read...

* * *

Complete difference

Still furious about how that cow had acted during the little scrimmage, I sat in the kitchen of the Burrow listening to whatever George was telling.

"…at which Harry commented that you had quite a knack for escaping Bludgers," he said laughing. He'd retold the story at least a million times now. First to Tammy and me, then to Hermione and now Ron had joined us too. "He seemed glad to know that you prefer to play Chaser instead of Seeker. Wouldn't like to play against you. Mind you, he _did_ lose last time…"

"Hey!" Harry said indignantly.

"Is Harry feeling territorial?" Tammy grinned. It's funny how in the past year she practically became family. A bit like Harry and Hermione, actually…if only she would get romantically involved with one of my brothers…

I mean, Hermione and Ron, Harry and I…the only problem was that Tammy would have to choose between Charlie and George and to be absolutely honest, they weren't the likeliest boyfriend materials. Charlie still spent most of his time in Romania…well, actually, all of his time and George…George's had more girlfriends than Lockhart's got admirers.

"Well, don't worry Harry, I promise I won't quit." She stood up and poured some more tea.

"So you played Seeker again?" Hermione asked, interested.

"Only for one practice," I shrugged, "It's nothing, really."

Harry and George snorted.

"Seriously!" I laughed, "I can't even pull off a Wronski Feint!"

"Practically _nobody_ can pull off a Wronski Feint, Gin." Harry smiled even though he sounded a bit exasperated, as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it softly.

"Well," Tammy sighed happily, "I for one am glad that you kicked her ass!"

I nodded ardently and crunched up my face. "She reminds me of _Phlegm_." The moment it had left my mouth I realized I'd said something stupid. And it only got worse from the looks on the faces of Harry, Ron, Hermione and George, which were turned toward me.

"Who's Phlegm?" Tammy asked curiously.

"Nobody," Ron said immediately.

"Oh, you don't know her," Hermione shook her head fervently.

"Nothing important," George shrugged in an absolutely _not_ convincing way.

"N…" Harry started, but I was quicker.

"Oh sod it!" I exclaimed, "I'll tell her…Tammy, I'm terribly sorry and I'll understand if you'll hate me forever, because she's your friend. And I know I have to like her because she married Bill, but I can't! She's just so…_Phlegm_!"

And at that moment Tammy did the one thing that surprised me the most: she laughed very, very hard and said, "She doesn't hate you. She's nice!"

"To you she is," I scowled stubbornly, "But she hates _me_! You should see her around me…she acts like she owns the whole bloody universe!"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, she does," I stated firmly.

"Oh Ginny," Tammy sniggered, "If Fleur hated you, she would be ignoring you! Since she's acting this snobby, I'd say she feels intimidated by you."

I gaped at her like a fish.

"You should have seen her when we met on our first day at Beauxbatons," Tammy continued, grinning, "Ever since I was very little, I have been flying and I really wanted to get on the Quidditch team. So the first thing I did when we had a free period was grab my broom and just go out flying. After half an hour, I went back down and saw Fleur standing there. She said it wasn't appropriate to fly for a lady; that it should be left to the boys. And then she sniffed, swung her hair around as she turned and walked away. It was quite funny, actually. You should have seen her face when we found out that we had been placed in a room together. She tried to get a different room, but of course Madame Maxime wouldn't have any of it. And so, the next morning, Fleur kept giving me comments on how I should improve my hair or how I would accentuate this or that if only I would dress differently. I simply ignored her, got to know another girl from the Netherlands and became friends with her. And slowly the first term ended and we got our results. In France they have this system in which one person is awarded a prize because he or she is the best of the class in a certain subject. Fleur got awarded three or four of them and that evening she kept boasting about it. It was so annoying that in the end I started to yell at her that even though she was so perfect and everything, she didn't have to rub it in every time she saw me! It wasn't my fault I only could do Quidditch and some simple household spells! She didn't have to tell me every single moment how perfect her Charms were… She was silent for a moment and then said, 'I'm sorry for acting like that. I hope we can be friends.' And from that moment on we've been very good friends. Of course she always had her group of perfect looking witches around her and I was one of the guys, but in the evenings we talked about all sorts of things. She even told me why she had acted towards me the way she had. She had been intimidated by the fact that I could do something without even having to study for it."

I gaped at her, still looking like a fish. After a moment I managed to choke out, "Why would she be intimidated by _me_?"

"Oh, where to begin," Tammy said a little amused, "You're the only sister of her husband, you play professional Quidditch right out of Hogwarts, you're Harry Potter's girlfriend and you've done loads of things at school she didn't even _dream_ about while taking part in the Tournament. You went to the Ministry when you were fourteen years old…" Oh yes, she's definitely spent too much time with my family. "…managed to get rid of a few Death Eaters and were of great value during the final battle."

"She was too!" I interrupted her loudly.

"Yes," Tammy nodded, "She was. But she's also very well aware of what her Veela magic can do. Everything she's ever accomplished, everything she's ever done…She thinks it's her Veela magic that makes it possible. You see, she only has to _look_ at a boy or a man and he'll do anything she asks him too. It's almost impossible to gain her trust as a man. I still wonder how Bill managed it enough to marry her."

George smirked. "Only ickle Ronniekins has got trouble with her charm."

"Shut it, George!" Ron scowled. George merely grinned.

"Anyway," Tammy rolled her eyes, "Here you are, an ordinary girl that's _not_ related to some dubiously mythical creature and still you've got around twenty men protecting you."

"Who?" my brothers and Harry asked immediately…and not very friendly either.

"Harry, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron," Tammy started calmly, "Your Dad, Lupin, Neville, that ex-boyfriend of yours…the black one, that hyperactive guy with the camera, his little brother, coach Morris, Mad-Eye and a few others I'm sure to have forgotten."

Hermione nodded in understanding while I simply looked at them, confused. They were mad, they were all bloody mad!

"They'll die for you," Tammy continued, "Well, Harry and your family will…the rest I'm not really sure…But that doesn't matter because what I try to tell you is that you have all these people trusting you and doing anything for you without having to bedazzle them with your inner magic."

"She's done it on Harry," George snorted.

"Get lost," I snapped back at him.

"Fleur admires you for that ability," Tammy smiled as if George hadn't interrupted her. "And at the same time you scare the magic out of her because she knows she'll never be able to do that. Bill will always love you before her."

"Nonsense," I stated simply, "Bill _has_ to love me. We're related. But he _chooses_ to love her…complete difference."

"If you can get that through to her, she'll be the sister you've never had."

Hermione looked a little upset at that comment.

* * *

The day that from that moment on would be known as The Day The World As We Knew It Ceased To Exist came sooner than I thought. 

After weeks of Quidditch practice for both the Harpies and the National Team, I just had my final practice before the finals in which I had experienced quite a nasty fall. Since I wanted to get away quickly, I had asked the Healer to only take care of the worst injuries. I had promised Mum to help her cook dinner for the family (Bill and Fleur were supposed to come over, together with Percy and Penelope) and I already was late because of the long practice. Actually, that had been the main reason why I messed up a manoeuvre and fell off my broom. Do not ever try to hurry when playing professional Quidditch!

And so, I stumbled out of the Floo with a very loud crash (Harry has got a very bad influence on me), announcing my presence to anyone in the kitchen.

_« Ma chérie ! » _Fleur exclaimed. She hurried over to me after drying her hands very quickly. Had she been doing dishes? "What happened to you?"

"I fell…" I muttered as I staggered over to a chair and dropped myself on it. Dinner could wait. First I had to gather enough energy to drag myself onto the stairs into a shower and actually take one.

"Ginny…" she said with that French accent of hers. "Why did you not let zhose Healers look at it?"

"I did!" I exclaimed, "Only, I was in a hurry…it was much worse than this…this will heal."

"You could have healed zhese yourself," she huffed as she crossed her arms. Why did Bill marry her?

"No," I said a little tetchy, "I'm terrible with Healing Charms."

It was awfully funny to watch 'Phlegm the part Veela' gape at me like a fish. And if I'd had more energy instead of feeling as if a herd of Hippogriffs had used my body as a dance floor, I would have burst out laughing. Unfortunately, I _did_ feel as if said herd had used my body as a dance floor and I only managed to grimace as I tried to smile.

Apparently, that was all that was needed for Fleur to get her voice back. "But you wanted to go into Healer training! Bill told me…_you_ told all of us!"

"Yes," I said simply, "Yes, I did. But not because it was easy! I wanted to become a Healer so I could help people. I had to work very hard in Charms to get the right grades. DADA, Transfiguration, even Potions weren't really a problem…but Charms!" I growled at the memory of my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and the studying accompanying them.

_« Oh ma chérie… »_ Fleur kneeled before me with her wand in her hand. "I will fix you up so you can take a long, hot shower. I will take care of zhe dinner."

I looked at her as if she'd grown three heads.

"Hold still!" she ordered as I continued to avoid her wand. Or tried to, at least.

"You're not going to hex me?" I asked suspiciously. This _was_ Phlegm we were talking about.

"Why would I do zhat?" she said a little indignantly.

"Because you're Fleur and I'm Ginny?" I said as if it were very obvious. Which it was.

Fleur smiled softly, albeit a little sad… "You remind me a lot of Gabrielle. She always was very…reserved…to people because of our _héritage_."

Oh bugger! I could kick myself for letting this come up…Gabrielle…sweet, little Gabrielle…

When Bill and Fleur had gotten married just after I'd turned sixteen, Bill told her he wanted to wait to go on their honeymoon. Fleur whisked her hair around like she does so well and told him that if they would start to postpone it now, they would probably keep postponing it forever. She didn't want Lord Voldemort to win that battle too.

In the end they compromised and decided to go on their honeymoon, but only for a week instead of the two they had been planning.

Nevertheless, Voldemort wasn't the most evil wizard of all time for nothing, because somehow (we still don't know why, but well, it _was_ Voldemort…of course he had his ways) he found out about Fleur being married to Bill and them being away and unreachable for a week. Somehow he found out that Fleur had one sister and somehow he found out that she lived in Paris with her mother…

He went to Paris. Yes, Lord Voldemort himself, who, at that particular moment in time, was being hunted down by Harry, Ron and Hermione, went to Paris to kill a little eleven-year-old girl and her mother.

Their maid had gone to the other side of the road to get some _baguettes_ for dinner and saw a strange, hooded man enter their building. She returned quickly to see her _madame_ lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from a gash in her head. Gabrielle who hadn't been old enough to go to Beauxbatons yet, but had gotten a wand for her birthday since she would start attending that year, stood in front of her mother. She held her wand pointed towards Voldemort and told him in rapid French that he should leave. She had a very powerful sister that could come home any minute now.

He simply laughed in that eerie laugh he's got and told her that her sister was away to some pacific island where she couldn't be reached with her darling husband. But he promised to find Fleur soon so she could keep her little sister company in death.

"Never," Gabrielle apparently had yelled back to him, and her anger, combined with the fact that she had a wand in her hand, caused a jet of blue light to come out of the wand and hit Voldemort.

But of course this only fuelled his anger and next thing the maid remembered was a bright green light and a dull 'thunk'. She understood that the sweet little _mademoiselle_ had been killed and ran to the nearest wizarding household she knew to ask for help. Once the French Magical Law Enforcement Squad arrived, Voldemort was gone and _madame_ more dead than not. They took her to _l'hôpital de Réaumur_ where the Healers managed to fix her just before Fleur got back from her honeymoon. Being unable to contact her, the hospital had sent an owl to Mum and me, recounting the events that had happened in Paris. We did everything we could to contact the newlyweds, but were unable to reach them.

When they finally got home, Mum was out working for the Order. Fred and George had been '_assigned to guard me_', but had retreated themselves to their old room for some product testing. So it was me who told Fleur that her family had been attacked. That her mother lay in the hospital, unconscious, but healthy. That her sister was dead…

I'm not sure she heard that last bit, because she was already arranging things so she could go back to France as fast as possible. Bill was looking absolutely gobsmacked and fell down on a chair while Fleur was running around and making all kinds of Floo calls.

"Gabrielle," he said.

I nodded.

"Eleven-year-old, part-Veela Gabrielle."

I nodded again.

He looked at me and seemed to finally actually _see_ me, "Where's Mum?"

"Order," I said.

"Where is Ron…Harry…Hermione?"

I shrugged.

"You don't _know_?" he asked incredulously. He stood up and went to the stairs, "Ron? Oy! Ronniekins!"

"Not here!" Fred yelled back. I heard them stumbling down the stairs as Fleur turned back from the fireplace to announce that she had managed to get an authorization to Apparate early to France. She had to leave immediately, but she didn't really seem to mind.

"You're back!" Fred grinned as the twins entered the kitchen.

"And we're gone," Bill said determinedly as he steered Fleur back out of the kitchen. "Fred, George. If you even _blink_ for longer than an instant and therefore leave Ginny out of your sight…Voldemort will be the least of your problems."

I've never seen Fred and George so serious ever again.

They kept me company in the kitchen where they continued with their product testing until Mum came home. Of course they made a mess and forgot to clean everything so Mum threw a right fit, but they actually made me worry less about everything that was happening.

The next day we got an owl from Bill telling us that Mrs. Delacour would go back to her home in Paris where the maid would take care of her. Fleur would only stay away for a few weeks, since she had her job here. She goes back more often, with Bill, ever since Harry killed Voldemort. Her mother doesn't talk to anybody anymore, not even her eldest daughter. She apparently keeps staring out of her window, looking out for Gabrielle.

Gabrielle…who had died during the war, trying to protect her injured mother.

"I'm sorry," I said immediately. My injuries were entirely forgotten.

"Why?" Fleur asked bewildered, "You didn't kill her. You didn't know! It was I who should have been zhere. If only I could have protected my Gabrielle…" A solemn tear fell from her eye. Hmpf! Even _that_ she manages to do with dignity!

I awkwardly put my arms around her in a hug. "Fleur…" I tried, but she only started to sob harder.

"She's dead," she cried softly. "And only because I didn't want to postpone our honeymoon!"

"That's dragon dung and you know it," I said firmly, "Once Voldemort wants someone dead, it's done before he could even _ask_ for it. Even if you had been in England, you never would have been on time to save her. Besides, nobody could stand between him and his victim without risking their lives. Well…except Harry of course…"

She looked up as if I were crazy.

"It's _not_ your fault!" I continued in that same firm voice. "Gabrielle was very brave to stand up to him. She did something she believed in and had to pay with her life. It's terrible that she was murdered and I definitely won't deny that. But the choice she made to protect your mother…without knowing any curses or hexes…I reckon _that_'s wonderful!"

Fleur rubbed the tears out of her eyes that miraculously turned out to be not red or puffy or anything ugly at all. "She would want me to be happy," she nodded firmly.

"Yes, she would."

"And I'm keeping you from your shower! _Va!_ Take a long, hot shower and don't you dare to come down again before dinner. I will take care of zhat."

"But…" I started to object. I promised Mum! I _had_ to help! That's why I fell off that bloody broom in the first place!

"No," she said determinedly, "Nuzhing of zhat. I don't want to see you for annuzher hour."

Bloody hell…who did she think she was? My mother? However…I _did_ listen to her and I _did_ take that long awaited shower.

* * *

**A/N: **Only 20 reviews left...you know what to do... 


	14. I like your hair

**A/N: **Hah! Another update! Even though I actually have to be doing research for my master right now...ah well, procastinating it is!

I want to thank KD for betaing this so quickly and all of you for reviewing. Now, read on!

* * *

I like your hair

This was it. The Quidditch Finals. The Holyhead Harpies against the Chudley Cannons. Whoa…Chudley Cannons and Quidditch Finals in one sentence; that couldn't be right. Except that it was. Right, I mean. Bloody hell, I'm babbling!

"Buggering bollocks!" I muttered.

"You're never going to stop with that, are you?" Evy asked next to me.

"But it's true!" I sputtered.

"Yes, they have a better Keeper," Evy sighed. This was the umpteenth time she told me this. "And yes, their Seeker is better too. But we have better Chasers. You made it a tie last time! Just score one more goal _this_ time and we win!"

"They had their rubbish Keeper then," I muttered darkly, "We wouldn't have won if Wood had been in the game."

"But we also have a secret weapon…" Evy's eyes twinkled, "We can distract their Seeker."

"I'm telling you!" I exclaimed, "It won't work! He's seen me play way too often. He won't believe I'm in danger."

"Well, we'll just have to try and see, won't we?" she grinned.

Bloody hell! She'll never stop, will she?

But when the game started, I was sad to see I'd been right. Wood was very good, even better than last time. And although their Chasers still were rubbish, it got us nowhere. After half an hour of playing, none of the teams had scored and I was getting a little exasperated. If Harry caught the Snitch now, we would lose. And I wouldn't be surprised if Harry caught the Snitch.

Just as I saw something gold fly by (and noticed both Harry and Tammy turn around to catch it), I got a perfect opportunity to score. I caught the Quaffle from Natalie and flew fast forward. If only I could score, then it wouldn't be a hundred and fifty to nil…

From the corners of my eyes I saw Parish club a Bludger towards me, only to be followed by Adam, who smacked the other one.

Bloody hell!

I took a deep breath. They were a little late, so if I accelerated I could stay in front of them and score. Well, if Wood would let it pass…

I blocked out all of the other sounds so it became Wood and me against each other. I was still a little aware of the Bludgers approaching, but as long as their whooshing sound didn't grow louder, I would be okay. That was what I thought, at least.

There were thirty feet between Wood and me. Twenty feet. The Bludgers grew a little louder and I could see Wood's face. He didn't look happy. Perhaps he remembered our last game where he got knocked out flat…oh, focus Ginevra! Ten feet. Wood started drifting a little to my right so he could escape the Bludgers. Well, his fault then. In one swift movement I threw the Quaffle, pulled up my broom and made a loop to return in my original position. Wood was looking dumbstruck at the Quaffle (which had indeed passed the hoop) and the Bludgers had turned around to chase other players. About time he let a goal pass.

"Better luck next time!" I grinned at him as I turned around to fly back to the game…only to find myself face to face with Harry.

"Bloody hell, Gin!" he exclaimed. Was he worried? He was! Isn't that cute? "Do you _want_ to die?"

"It's called the Quidditch finals," I said, patting his arm and smiling.

"That was suicidal," he growled, "_Not_ Quidditch."

"Yes, well, I scored," I grinned cheekily, "Did you catch the Snitch?"

He suddenly got a comprehending look on his face. "Bloody hell, Gin!" he exclaimed again, but this time the worry was combined with something like respect, "You're absolutely cunning!"

I simply grinned, winked at him and sped up towards the front. He'd survive. And in the meantime…at least we'd have _some_ points…

* * *

"_Verdomme!_" I heard Tammy exclaim somewhere above me. I had since long ago learned that _that_ particular Dutch word usually meant nothing good. And I couldn't come up with anything to contradict her. Wood had lost a little bit of his regular confidence which meant that he let a few goals pass and their Chasers had some moments in which they actually knew how to play and therefore scored. All in all, after two very long and excruciating hours of playing Quidditch, the score still was seventy to thirty in our favour. Not much of a lead, eh? 

I really wasn't counting on a repeat of the Harpies' match against the Heidelberg Harriers where they played for seven bloody days. Of course because I didn't think I'd survive it (and if we replaced Tammy with Robbins, Harry would catch the Snitch before you could say 'Quidditch finals'), but also because that little relationship Harry and I had probably wouldn't survive a week on a pitch. So when Gwenog called a time-out, I gladly flew to the ground. That Cushioning Charm wasn't what it used to be.

"_Verdomme!_" Tammy exclaimed as she finally got to the ground.

"I second that," Meredith sighed, "Can't we just let Potter catch the Snitch and get it over with?"

"No!" Gwenog, Tammy and I snapped immediately.

"_You_ shouldn't complain," Evy grinned at me, "_You_ get to take advantage of his celebrating mood."

I glared at her. That remark wasn't even _worthy_ of a reply.

"That doesn't matter," Gwenog saved me, "Remember the Harriers? We can do this; we've already shown it. We just have to find a way to get around Wood and Potter. Can't we trick their Beaters again into knocking him out flat?"

"He'll see it coming this time," Natalie answered, "But maybe we can take Potter out. He seemed pretty torn between saving Ginny and catching the Snitch the last time."

"I'm not going to die just so we can win a match!" I said indignantly.

"You won't die!" Natalie sounded very exasperated, "Harry'll save you!"

"Won't do it," I said simply.

"Yeah, well, you said that last time too," Evy grinned, "And waddoyou know! You nearly got knocked off your broom in order to score!"

"Yes, er…" I tried to come up with a new plan, "Can't we simply trick Wood again? Our Chasers _are_ better."

Gwenog sighed, "Meredith and I will try to knock them _both_ off their brooms. We'll see if it gets us somewhere. Everybody ready to go up again or should I put in a replacement?"

"Not Robbins!" Tammy muttered darkly, "We'll never win with _her_ up in the air!"

Gwenog actually grinned at this, "What if I just put Ginny in instead of you, that alright?"

Before I had time to react, Tammy had responded with "Perfect!" and we were back in the air. Bloody Quidditch!

This time it went even worse. Wood apparently had gotten his confidence back by taking it from Rachel or something. He blocked everything while she suddenly started to let even the most ridiculously simple goals pass! In half an hour it had gotten from seventy to thirty to ninety to two hundred and ten. Exactly! How can that be possible? Of course…it could have had something to do with the fact that Gwenog and Meredith focused their attention on Wood and Harry and let Beutel, Lager and Olsen do pretty much what they wanted…if only Wood had gotten knocked out! But he must have practiced, because he dodged every single one of those Bludgers.

And Harry…well, he conquered a bloody Dark Lord! Frolicking Bludgers were nothing to him! Or at least, that's what I thought until (during a very nice Porskoff Ploy from us Chasers which got the Harpies another ten points) Harry suddenly started spiralling downwards. Luckily we'd just scored, because I immediately dropped everything and raced towards Harry, muttering over and over, "Don't die, Harry, don't die. Please, don't die."

"Bloody hell, Harry! Do you _want_ to die?" I yelled as I landed next to him. I tried to keep it light by using his words, but I was terrified! What if he _did_ die? My heart practically jumped out of my chest when he smiled at me. Thank Merlin!

"It's just Quidditch," he grinned, but it wasn't completely pain free, "I had Voldemort to kill me. So, did you score?"

"Actually, I did," I smirked, but I immediately returned to 'concerned girlfriend'-mode, "Are you hurt?"

"Nothing they can't heal. Shouldn't you be up there to catch up on your loss?"

"You'll live?"

"Absolutely, I have to celebrate my victory, won't I?"

I glared at him as I mounted my broom, muttered, "We'll see about that!" and kicked off hard.

At least Isobel Buch, their reserve Seeker, _wasn't_ infallible. And while she and Tammy kept looking for the Snitch (which regularly made an appearance only to disappear very fast), Natalie, Evy and I tried our hardest to keep the Cannons at bay. But very slowly, the unthinkable happened…

The Cannons were in the lead with a hundred and fifty points.

Natalie was flying next to me, threw me the Quaffle, which I almost immediately passed to Evy, who threw it towards the Cannons left goal hoop. Wood caught it (stupid pillock…) and looked at it for a very long time. Why didn't he throw it back into the game? So we could continue and _win_?

And just as I was thinking that…a very piercing whistle sounded and I felt all the blood drain from my face. No…that's impossible! Evy and I turned around to see Tammy with the Snitch in her outstretched hand.

I turned to the scoreboard…two hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty. A tie, a bloody, buggering tie! Was this a stupid joke somebody was playing on us? Ties are impossible in finals! Buggering, buggering bollocks!

"Buggering bollocks!" I muttered wide-eyed.

"For once, I agree," Evy muttered with me.

On the ground, Gwenog was motioning us to come down. We zoomed towards her, meeting Tammy halfway.

"I'm sorry," she said with a guilty look on her face. "I knew you were trying to score when Buch and I went after the Snitch. When I heard cheers…I thought you'd scored. Didn't exactly have time to check it…"

I waved her guilt away and started thinking about what would happen now. Has there ever been a tie in a deciding Quidditch final? Did whoever came up with the rules ever thought of this? The odds of a tie in Quidditch were almost zero. Since we've already had a tie once…and for it to happen during something like the finals…

"Well," Gwenog interrupted my thoughts, "The referees are still arguing about it, but we'll have to do penalties. It's stated in the official rulebook that in case of a tie at the finals, each team is awarded 3 penalties. If that doesn't decide the match then both teams get a penalty until one loses to the other." She sighed, "Bloody hell, I'd never thought that stupid dare would ever turn out to be actually useful!"

I gave Natalie a questioning look.

"She had to memorize the Quidditch rulebook from cover to cover for a dare two Christmases ago," she muttered from the corner of her mouth.

At that moment a magically enhanced voice boomed through the stadium, announcing exactly what Gwenog had told us.

"Well," Gwenog continued, "Now that we know what to do…the Chasers are not obliged to take the penalties. Natalie, Evy, Ginny, only do it if you're certain of yourselves. Julie and Lynette are perfectly able to play too."

"I'll do it," Evy said without even hesitating.

"I'd love to," Natalie said uncertainly, "But I'm not sure if I'd make it. I give my spot to one of the reserves."

"Julie will do it," Gwenog nodded, "Ginny?"

I hesitated. I knew I could do it, but it would be quite some pressure to score… "I'll do it too," I said finally.

"Good," Gwenog nodded, "We go up in fifteen minutes. Until then you all've got time to do whatever you want and prepare."

"No snogging the opponents," Tammy grinned at me. Nice to know she's not feeling guilty anymore…

"Tammy!" Gwenog snapped at her, "Rachel, I know you can play loads better than what you did today and I'm begging you to try and block every single damn ruddy Quaffle that comes your way. Understood?"

Rachel simply nodded. Come to think of it, she did look a little green…

The fifteen minutes had passed and before I knew it, we were up in the air. John Beutel went first and scored. Julie was next…and scored too. Matthew Olsen followed and the Cannons scored their second goal. It was Evy's turn and without hesitating, she passed Wood. Still a tie. Allan Lager was the last of the Cannons' Chasers and scored. Bloody hell! It all came back to me, didn't it?

I took the Quaffle from Rachel's outstretched hands and flew over to my position. If I scored, it would still be a tie and we would continue with penalties. If I lost…well, Harry at least would be pleased. And Ron too, I reckon.

I took a deep breath, heard the whistle and threw the Quaffle with all my might towards the most left (Wood's weakness) hoop and…

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed outraged.

Behind me, I could hear the cheers of the Cannons and their supporters.

"Bloody hell!" I seethed and flew furiously back to the ground without listening to anybody, "Bloody hell!" I threw my broom as far away as possible and began walking off the pitch. Bloody hell…

"I'm sorry, Gin," I heard the only person who could get away with that nickname say. To be quite honest, I wasn't feeling that tolerant toward him at this particular moment.

"You bloody well aren't," I turned around and glared at him furiously, "You're bloody well pleased your girlfriend managed to miss so terribly so that the Cannons became champions for the first time since 1892."

Harry put his uninjured arm on my shoulder. "Come on Gin, you played absolutely fantastic!"

I kept glaring at him so he would take his arm off me. But he didn't. And it was that particular little fact that pushed me over the ledge. I buried my face in his chest and started crying softly. "I lost!" I sobbed.

He awkwardly patted my back before deciding that he maybe should do something more. "Sshhh Gin," he whispered in my ear, rubbing my back, "You'll be ok."

"I lost us our finals, Harry!" I cried. "Why did I ever decide to play Quidditch to avoid you?"

He started to laugh, "Fat lot of good that did to you!"

Even though that dried my tears quite effectively, I glared at him. "Git."

"You're an absolutely marvellous Chaser, Gin," he grinned, "Just wait until the National Team is announced. You're bound to be on it."

I kept glaring at him, but he still was rather impervious to it. Over his shoulder I could see various amounts of paparazzi making their way towards us… "Could you bring me home?" I asked without looking away from them.

He turned his head slightly. "Of course." And for the umpteenth time since I became his girlfriend, he grabbed me and Disapparated before I actually could realize what was happening.

* * *

"The Cannons won! The Cannons won! The Cannons won! The Cannons won!" I heard Ron chant as Harry and I approached the Burrow the next day. 

"Ron!" Mum scoffed.

"But they did! The Cannons won! They haven't even been _close_ in ages!"

I gave Harry a look. He smiled apologetically and squeezed my hand.

"Ronald!" Mum exclaimed, "Your sister lost. Don't you _dare_ mention this in front of her!"

"But Harry will be here! I'm allowed to congratulate him, aren't I?"

"You already did," Harry muttered as Mum shouted those exact words from inside the house.

"Yeah…" This was Fred. "Once…or twice…"

"…every minute…" George continued.

"…of every hour…" Fred once again.

"…of every bloody…"

"George!" Mum bellowed.

"…sodding…"

"Fred!"

And you wonder why _I_ swear so much when I grew up with _those_ two?

"Come," Harry started to pull me away from the house.

"What are you doing?" I asked surprised.

"_We_ are going to let him cool down before _we_ enter." He led me to the dock in the pond where we sat down. "If he keeps acting like he's been acting this whole year, he'll have me to explain to."

I couldn't help but grin. Harry's very sweet when he wants to be.

"Wotcher Harry! Ginny!"

We turned around as one to see Tonks grinning up at us. She was leaning heavily on her cane that was, as usual, assorted to her hair. Just like she had done since the final battle…

Tonks had been fighting with Bellatrix Lestrange and both started to get very tired after a while. They knew that it would be over soon unless someone would come barging over to them and help them…But well, Harry, Ron and Hermione were off with Voldemort, Lupin was fighting with Avery or Macnair or whoever it was and I was too busy with not being noticed by either Mum or Dad or Bill or Charlie or the twins or Fleur or McGonagall or Hagrid…oh bollocks…quite a few people were looking after me, weren't they? Anyway…I was very busy not being noticed by _anyone_, since I wasn't exactly allowed to be there in the first place, while Bellatrix cornered Tonks against a wall. With a swish of her wand, she shot a spell towards her niece that hit the wall. It started crumbling down when Tonks pulled a very smart Auror move ('or maybe I slipped', she always adds when she recounts this story) which caused both women to swap places. Bellatrix got the full load of the debris and didn't survive. Tonks got buried all the way up to her waist.

When the Healers finally managed to pull her out of it, her right leg was too damaged to ever fully recover. Since she also had gotten a nasty blow to her head, she remained unconscious for almost a month…Lupin had never been that much in Hogwarts, not even when he was teaching there.

"Remus needs to talk to you, Harry," she said, "And Ron as well."

"Alright," Harry nodded as he stood up. I started to get up to go with him, but Tonks grinned, "Men stuff."

Harry kissed my forehead and walked away.

The only problem with Tonks was that she couldn't possibly go back to being an Auror with her injury. But Mad-Eye got word of this and talked her into a desk job, even though she always used to say that she'd rather sit home and die of boredom before accepting a desk job.

Of course, it did help that she would be working with Mad-Eye. You see, when Scrimgeour got appointed Minister for Magic, everybody thought Kingsley would replace him. But then he got that job with the Muggle prime minister and a lot of witches and wizards declared themselves Head of Auror Office without actually having been appointed. It annoyed Scrimgeour to no end, but since the war was more important at the moment, he decided to let it pass.

Once everything had been sorted out, he fired every witch and wizard that had taken advantage of the chaos and declared themselves Head of Auror Office. Afterwards, he went to Mad-Eye and asked him to come back from retirement once again to help the Ministry rebuild the Auror Office. Thankfully, Mad-Eye had been far too good friends with Dumbledore and only wanted to oblige if he could stop whenever he wanted and if he would get someone to help him.

And thus Tonks became Junior Head of Auror Office after a visit from Mad-Eye Moody to see McGonagall at Hogwarts while Tonks was regaining strength in the Hospital Wing. Ron hates it, because he has to work for people he actually knows very well. He keeps secretly hoping that Mad-Eye is going to retire soon, but I reckon he likes it too much to tell Tonks off when she's being clumsy over and over to really retire yet again.

"I like your hair," I smiled at Tonks.

"I am totally and absolutely supporting the Harpies," Tonks said seriously as she sat down next to me. "You should have seen Remus at the match, he kept shooting exasperated glances at me…well, he was the one that insisted on me wearing a Cannons shirt."

I looked at her confused.

"Harry got us tickets."

I started laughing hard, "You sat in the Cannons' top box with Harpies' colored hair and cane?"

"Absolutely," she nodded, "You should have heard Ron, asking me what in the name of Merlin was up with my hair! When I told him I was supporting the better team, he looked at me as if I'd grown three heads and demanded me to change my hair if that was the case. At which I told him I was too tired and the Healers didn't want me to exhaust myself too much. Might get in the way with the leg and everything, you see. Utter rubbish, of course, but Hermione was absolutely beaming by then…why she ever agreed to marry Ron still mystifies me…"

"Hermione was there?" I asked totally surprised. She had told me she wouldn't be able to make it!

"Oh yes!" Tonks' face was almost splitting in two because of her grin. "She simply refused to wear anything to do with the Cannons so she was wearing the most boring black robes with a little Holyhead Harpies' rosette on them."

"You two are my absolute most favourite people in the world!" I exclaimed as I hugged Tonks.

She grinned. "Remus was shouting appalling insults at Wood when he didn't return the Quaffle to you." She turned serious. "He also reckons you should have won, but since he had to choose between you and his best mate's son…well, he's old enough to make his own choices, right?" She winked. "Plus, at least you two will be on the same team when you'll be playing at the World Cup."

"Don't jinx it!" I cried.

"Oh come on, Ginny!" Tonks started to sound exasperated. "You are really good! And Harry, well, it's kind of sad, but he _is_ Harry Potter. I don't even reckon they will put it in the paper when he's made the team. When he's _not_ made the team…now that will be news!"

I couldn't help but laugh with her.

* * *

**A/N:** Only11 reviews to go until we've reached 100...  



	15. You're not famous

**A/N:** Thank you so much for all your reviews! I try to respond ro all of you, but I don't have that much time and since I haven't got internet in my apartment anymore, I have to go to university to go online. But I am so happy with your reviews! It's so nice to get them...so to all of you I haven't responded to (and all the others too): Thank you. You make my day.

I also want to thank KD for betaing this. It had more errors than any of my other chapters.

Anyway...the story...

* * *

You're _not_ famous!

Tammy left for the Netherlands almost immediately after we lost to the Cannons. Since preparations for the World Cup were almost finished (we would get our results of the line-up for the National Team in two to four weeks) and practice would start soon, the Quidditch League Teams were practically being disbanded. At least until the English Team had been finalized. There were too much try-outs to be bothered with actual team practices if the season hadn't even started yet.

But it also meant that Tammy went back for a year to the Netherlands. She would come back every now and then, so she wanted to keep her part of our apartment, which again meant that I wouldn't have to look for a roommate. I was quite happy with that, because in between try-outs and preparing for Harry's birthday, things were a bit…hectic.

Mum wanted to invite the whole family for dinner on the 31st of July, but after a lot of negotiating we came to an understanding. I would trick Harry into coming over for lunch at the Burrow if we could have the evening for ourselves. It was only after I told her we would have an early practice the following morning that she consented and gave us the evening to celebrate his 20th birthday.

It wasn't that hard to get Harry to come for lunch at my parents. He asked me to meet him for lunch, I told him that I already had made plans with my parents, he pouted and said it was his birthday, I answered by telling him that if I went there for lunch I would have the whole evening off. And that he was very welcome to join me. He did get suspicious when I added that last bit, but he met Hermione the following day who kept apologizing that she and Ron wouldn't be able to make it on his birthday because they had to visit places for their wedding. And when the twins also came over to give him his early birthday present (official Harpies' gloves, hat and scarf…Harry looked at me with a knowing look in his eyes), he decided that it would be safe to go to a lunch at my Mum's on his birthday.

He sure can be naive sometimes…

As we were walking up to the kitchen door, everything was actually quiet.

"It's only your Mum and Dad, right?" Harry said apprehensively.

I made a noncommittal noise and kept walking. It was no use to start lying now; he would find out the truth soon enough.

"Gin…it's too quiet…your whole family is here, right?"

I answered by pushing the door open and pulling Harry inside.

"Happy birthday!" everybody shouted. I saw Fleur and Hermione helping Mum preparing the last things. Bill, Percy and Dad looked as if they had rushed inside just before we came in. Ron was already sitting at the table with the twins…but within seconds everyone was next to Harry, shaking his hand and felicitating him. In between shaking hands with Fred and hugging Hermione, Harry shot me an amused glance.

"Congratulations with Harry, Ginny," I heard a dreamy voice say next to me.

I turned around with wide eyes. "Luna! Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I heard you two were together, congratulations."

Yes, well, never mind that now…what was she doing here?

"Oh Ginny, I hope you didn't mind I invited Luna over…" George came barging over to us. Buggering basilisks! Really!

I started laughing before he could continue and he looked at me as if I'd gone bonkers…which only fuelled my laughter.

"Er…Ginny?" he tried. Thank Merlin Harry was keeping the rest of my family busy.

"Oh don't bother," Luna interrupted him, "She's obviously been infected by the Tillydrigs. Honestly Ginny, I told you bad things would happen if you didn't let me have a look at it!"

I managed to reduce my laugh to a snigger, "Yes, sorry…I'll just…" I pointed vaguely towards Harry and walked backwards to him. "Nice talking to you, Luna." I sniggered again. Well I suppose that it wouldn't have surprised me that she went for one of my brothers when she realized she couldn't get Ron…

"You think this is funny, eh?" Harry muttered next to me. "Just wait, your birthday is in less than a fortnight…you won't know what hit you."

"Oh, I don't know what hit me alright," I grinned, "Look over at the stairs!"

He turned his head to see George and Luna making lovey-dovey eyes to each other. Harry's eyes widened immediately in shock, "No…"

"Oh yes," I chuckled, "Definitely yes. But apparently I'm not allowed to make fun of it, because that would mean the Tillydrigs finally attacked me."

Harry snorted. "You know, I haven't got the foggiest clue what I ever saw in her. I mean, she's fun and everything, but she kind of gets offended when you laugh at something she says."

"It's good you've got me then," I grinned.

He smiled back. "Yes, you only drag me over to your parents when I wanted a nice day off from Quidditch since it was the first one in a long time."

"You're so glad to have me," I grinned broadly.

* * *

Once Harry's birthday had passed, try-outs got harder. It was the last week and the Broadmoor brothers were pushing us as well as Glynnis Griffiths, the coach, to do everything we could. Try-outs were also being separated in this last week. We used to have some practices with the whole team, to see which players could work well together. But now it all came back to how good you were. 

Unfortunately, Hermione didn't really seem to get the fact that I was dead tired once I got home. She and Ron had finally decided on a wedding in March and since I was the maid of honor, I apparently had to do loads of things that I didn't have time for! I rarely saw Harry as it was and Hermione was cutting in quality Harry time. He, on the other hand, found all of this very amusing since Ron had made him best man and hadn't asked him to do anything yet.

I let this slip in one of my conversations with Hermione soon afterwards and the next day Harry was present at the wedding preparations.

* * *

In the meantime, the announcement for the English National Team approached faster than I ever could have imagined. A few days before my birthday, we all got called down to the pitch to hear the final results. 

This was it. Next to me, Rachel was nervously hopping from one foot to the other and back. It was getting bloody annoying. But before I could say something to her about it, she stopped because the Broadmoor brothers were walking towards us with Glynnis Griffiths.

"Ah!" Kevin started after magically magnifying his voice. "It's very good to see all of you managed to survive try-outs. I will be announcing the results shortly, but first Karl will explain what will happen from now on."

"Yes, well," Karl went on, "We've chosen seven players to form a team for the World Cup. We've also chosen first (and for some positions even second) reserves. All of you that haven't been chosen…We would like to thank you for working with us during the past few months and we would be very glad if you allow us to call upon you when needed. All of you will receive a list with your results so you can improve your shortcomings. Yes, even if you've made the team…nobody's perfect."

I smirked at Harry who only smiled back.

Kevin Broadmoor coughed once and started to call out names, "Keeper will be Meaghan McCormack. For Chasers we've chosen Devin Deforest, Trista Hodges and Melvyn Cobley. The Beaters are Kathryn Parish and Steve Norwood. And finally the Seeker will be…ah…of course!"

No…

"…Harry Potter."

I glared at Harry. Nobody's perfect, but he came really close!

"Reserves will be Oliver Wood and Rachel Hodges for Keeper," Karl continued. I smiled at Rachel, who smiled back.

"Chaser reserves are Alasdair Maddock, Bryanna Botham, Hugh Danvers and Matthew Olsen. Beaters…"

I didn't listen to the rest. So I hadn't made the team…Rachel gave me a sympathetic nod before going over to the other teammates so they could go over the details. Surprisingly, I wasn't that disappointed not to have made it onto the team. Of course, it would have given me tremendous satisfaction to finally show Ron that I was good enough…but now I would actually have time to have a life besides Quidditch. And with Hermione barging in on my life to demand my help on choosing the colour for the wedding invitations…as if I _care_ about the difference between broken white and crème…

"Miss Weasley?" Kevin Broadmoor called my name and I walked towards him. "These are your results." He gave me a sheet of parchment. "We were very tempted to put you on the team or as a first reserve. Finally, we decided against it. The others have more experience and are older. We're absolutely certain that if you continue this way, we'll be proud to welcome you in two years for the European Cup." He suddenly smiled. "My brother and I loved your game against the Falcons. They had no chance against you, no matter how dirty they played."

I looked at him, flabbergasted.

"That game impressed us…ten goals…if you'd been a year older or had had more experience, you'd be on the team. That's why we put Harry Potter on it. Did you know he's never missed a Snitch? At least, not while he was out playing a game."

"Once," I said absentmindedly. "During Hogwarts."

"Really?" Kevin said interested.

I looked at him. "Yes, Dementors came to the Quidditch Pitch and Harry fell off his broom while chasing the Snitch. His opponent caught it."

"Impressive," Kevin nodded smiling. "Well, I must give the other disappointed witches and wizards their results. You will be around, won't you?"

He walked away while I stood there, feeling as if I'd been hit in the head with at least three Bludgers. They wanted _me_ on the team? And they didn't choose me? What? I didn't realize that Harry was standing next to me until he grabbed my hand and forced me to look at him.

"They wanted me on the team," I said as I gave him the letter. "They were impressed."

"Of course they were," Harry said without hesitation, "You play bloody brilliantly!"

* * *

Hermione immediately took advantage of the fact that I wouldn't have anything to do during the day when she knocked on my door. 

"Since nobody will be living here," she started before even saying 'hello' or something. "Can we put the wedding headquarters here?"

"Ignoring the fact that you forgot to say 'hello'," I answered, "and that I still _do_ live here…why couldn't you do it at your parents? Or the Burrow?"

"Because your mother will want to meddle with everything that's going on and my parents are too busy. You don't have anything to do." Thank you so much for reminding me. I can just feel all your compassion! "Besides, you don't care enough to start meddling with things you should stay out of."

"Hey!" I said indignantly. "I care about this wedding!"

"Ginny…" She gave me that 'don't even try, because I know you're lying'-look that she's got all figured out.

"Alright…" I sighed, "I don't give a damn about flower arrangements. As long as it isn't bothering me, you can have your wedding headquarters…which is a totally awful name, by the way…here. I promise I won't touch anything without your permission."

Her face broke into a grin. "Thanks Ginny!" and she enveloped me in a hug.

"So why not let Mum help you?" I asked as we walked to the table. "I mean, she can be terrible when there's something she wants to help with and nobody lets her. I've been there, believe me." Ninth birthday. Mum wanted an enormous party with loads of friends; I wanted to convince Bill not to go to Egypt. Bugger if that was on the same day as my birthday. That would simply have to wait. If Bill went now, I would probably never see him. In the end, I lost. Bill went away and I practically never saw him anymore until he met Phlegm and moved back to England. And Mum had her pink, frilly birthday party…

"She's going to want to make it wizard-like," Hermione explained while putting all sorts of books on the table. "And well, my family are Muggles. We can't have a wizarding wedding…but what I wanted to ask you, was your opinion on this dress…"

"You haven't told your family you're a witch?" I interrupted her.

"Well, my parents know of course, but you know…I can't let the twins pull out their fireworks in front of my family. Now, this dress…"

"You're inviting the twins?"

"They're Ron's brothers! Anyway, this dress…"

"But they'll wreak havoc! You must…"

"Ginny! A dress!" She shoved a picture of a gorgeous white dress under my nose.

"Are you going to marry in white?" I asked amazed. Hermione actually blushed at this. "Right," I smirked. "I'll take that as a 'no' then."

"We'll have to go look in the store, but it's no use if I don't like it on a picture, don't you reckon?"

"Of course," I nodded, "So, what else do you want my opinion on?"

Hermione actually beamed at this. But hey, just because I don't jump at the occasion to check out all the possible wedding dresses, doesn't mean I don't want to help her! I bloody allowed her to have her _wedding headquarters_ in my apartment!

So I let her tell me everything about the possible flower arrangements, seating arrangements, bridesmaid dresses (I even managed to convince Hermione to let me have some pale green ones instead of the dark blue she wanted me to have. I'm going to a wedding, not a bloody funeral!) and many, many more. So, every other day she would hop over, sometimes with Ron when he wasn't being bullied around by Mad-Eye, but most of the time it was just the two of us.

Also, Harpies practice had restarted. The League would of course not be happening with the preliminary matches for the World Cup, but to keep all the non-International Quidditch Players in form, friendly games were being held all year between the thirteen League Teams.

Thankfully, they decided to let us have practice thrice a week, instead of every buggering day. And on one of my blissful days off, I went to Fred and George after receiving an urgent owl from them.

"Ginny!" Fred exclaimed. "Our saviour in these desperate times…"

"Hello…" I said a little suspiciously. They hadn't really told me what they wanted from me in the letter, but anything that had to do with urgent and the twins couldn't exactly be right.

"Ginny…" George had obviously noticed my suspicious tone. "We're not asking you to be our guinea pig."

I looked at him.

"Seriously! We need your help."

"With what?" I asked.

It was Fred who answered. "Verity, you know Verity, don't you?" I nodded. It was hard to forget anyone who managed to survive working with my brothers. "She's pregnant. Leaving on maternity leave in two weeks."

"And what's that got to do with me?"

"Since you haven't been chosen for a certain National Quidditch Team," George started.

"And your practices only take up…say…three days of your time," Fred continued.

"And your dear boyfriend _did_ manage to get on said National Quidditch Team." George was actually smirking!

"Let's say we reckon you've got quite a lot of free time on your hands right now." The compassion in Fred's voice almost had me fooled.

"No," I said before they could go any further.

"No what?" George asked innocently.

"I'm not working in your shop. You'd have to be mental to work for you two!"

"Come on, Ginny!" Fred started to beg. "It's only for a few months and we'll pay you what we pay Verity. We don't have time to interview people and we definitely don't fancy being mobbed by fans who probably will be nicking stuff whenever we're not watching them."

I sighed. "You promise to treat me like a fellow human being?"

"Yes," George nodded eagerly.

"And I get to quit whenever I want if I feel you two start acting like complete immature prats?"

"Absolutely!" Fred had started to nod too.

"Fine! I'll help you out. But only on my days off and I don't do Saturdays." Whatever I'd wanted to say afterwards, was interrupted because of two elderly brothers enveloping me in a very tight and very sandwich-like hug.

* * *

The problem with Harry being a national Seeker and me not being on the team, was that we saw even less of each other than before. It hadn't really been a problem once we'd gotten used to just popping over when either one of us had time, but in the last few weeks it had come down to not seeing each other at all. He didn't even have evenings off, since he'd decided to practice with the Cannons as well as the National Team. And I was always gone during the day with the Harpies and the occasional helping of Fred and George with their shop. And…Hermione kept dragging me to the most useless shops where, according to her, _'is the most gorgeous dress that I simply must have!'_ Only to find out, once we get there, that the fabric isn't right, or the colour, or the cut or everything else! It's that she's the sister I've never had; otherwise I would've hexed her into oblivion by now! 

Oh, and she's much faster than I am with spells.

But it still meant that I hadn't seen Harry for at least two weeks and I was getting quite annoyed. Especially when he simply barged in the kitchen in the Burrow I was sitting in with Mum, chatting about everything that went on in my life. (Especially the lack of Harry.) She was one of the other persons I didn't really have much time to spend with, so I was quite glad to be able to talk with her now.

"Are you coming?" Harry said to me. He didn't ask it, he just assumed that I would drop everything to follow him…which I probably would, but not now!

"I'm busy, Harry," I said instead, pointing at my mother.

"That doesn't matter now," Mum said immediately. "I have to prepare dinner anyway, you two just go and have fun."

"Thanks Molly," Harry said, but I was furious. How dare he!

"No Mum," I said decidedly, feeling my temper flare right up again. "We were talking and I want to finish our conversation!"

"Oh Ginny," Mum smiled. "We'll talk tomorrow. I'm coming with you and Hermione. I'm positive she has something to say on this too."

Yes, well, I'm positive too. I just don't really want her opinion, because she'd simply say I'm being silly and Harry and I should plan a weekend away from everything and everybody. "Mum…" I tried again.

"Ginny, you haven't seen Harry in ages!" Mum was shoving me towards Harry now. "Just go!"

Before I could protest, Harry had grabbed my arm and Apparated us to his house.

"Harry!" I exclaimed furiously, "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not going to fawn all over you and drop everything I'm doing to follow you when you have time to pay me attention, you know! It's not as if you're famous or something!" When the words had left my mouth, I realized I'd lied. He _was_ famous.

But his head snapped up in amazement and he said, "Merlin, I love you, I seriously love you!" He grinned and kissed me with so much passion that even if I hadn't heard him right, I'd still have guessed the meaning of his words from his actions.

"Oh!" was all I could manage to say when he stopped. "Well, that's good."

"Good?" He quirked an eyebrow. I reckon he just was glad I wasn't angry with him anymore. Bugger, I'd just given him a weapon against my tantrums…

"Yes," I smiled, "You see…I'm pretty sure I have fallen in love with you somewhere around my fourth year."

"Have you now, miss Weasley?" he said smugly.

"Well, yes," I said seriously, "But only of course because you're famous. Oh, and you've saved my life."

"Have I now?" he said softly, his lips only a few inches from mine. Suddenly he turned very serious. "I'm sorry for making you wait, Gin."

"It's okay," I said softly. "I'm with you now."

"I didn't mean just these few weeks," he said, still in that serious tone.

"Me neither," I whispered as I kissed him. "You're worth it."

* * *

**A/N:** That last bit was from _Friends_. I was watching it while I was writing this and it somehow slipped into the story. So...I don't own that. And we've reached a 100 reviews! We're even over it...I'm so happy...:)  



	16. Snuffles

**A/N: **Er...sorry? Really, I'm awfully sorry for the delay in this chapter, but I had such a hard time in writing it! I seriously have written three different drafts before coming up with this one. And then it had to be betaed, which of course also takes some time...so anyway, it's here now! Thank you so much, KD!

And thank you all for your reviews. Thank you so much.

* * *

Snuffles

On a very fine sunny afternoon (autumn always made Diagon Alley look magical), I was looking with growing amazement at a mother and her two children bickering in the twins' shop.

"Mum…can I have that one?"

"No."

"What about that?"

"No."

The two boys kept begging their mother for everything that could be bought (along with a few items that weren't on sale) ever since they had gotten in about half an hour before and started to touch everything. Fred and George immediately recognized fellow mischief-makers and went over to them to convince them to buy the most ridiculous and useless stuff.

Wait.

I'm selling it.

The most interesting and useful stuff, then. Anyway, the two boys started bombarding the twins about everything and only stopped when their mother came bustling in.

"How often do I have to tell you that you don't let Mummy out of your sight! You could get lost and never find your way home again! Who's going to take care of you then, eh? Thought about that?"

She had grabbed the two boys by their arms and continued to the older one, "You're starting Hogwarts next year, Jack! You can't go off not minding the rules when you've started going to school! And to take your brother along with you!"

The boy, Jack, hadn't seemed very fazed at all with his mother's behaviour. He just kept grinning sheepishly and let his younger brother take all their mother's attention.

"Mum, Mum! I want that box! And a wand! And a Canary Cream!" And a couple of dozen other items…

Their mother really started to get angry then. I reckon she'd been worried; she was old enough to have remembered the first war and everything that had been going on back then. The terror…the second one had only just ended and there were more than enough witches and wizards that didn't really dare to believe Voldemort was actually dead now. Not when he'd returned once…

And now that her children had escaped her guarding eye…she threw a very Mum-like fit (oh…maybe it's a 'mum'-thing…) and the boys actually started to look a little scared.

The moment she started to scold her children, Fred and George had retreated behind the counter with me and commented on what they saw…

"Oh no, that's no good," Fred shook his head. "She looks like she's about to cry…they'll see it coming a mile away and start asking for stuff again."

And to my growing amazement, the littlest one had indeed started to ask for everything in the shop and soon, Jack had joined his brother. Their mother reacted by yelling angrily to them, only once interrupting herself to apologize to us.

"By all means," Fred answered with a wave of his hand, "don't mind us. Please, continue!"

George was grinning wickedly.

"Jack! Don't touch that! Dougie, no!" the mother said. At that moment, she wasn't sounding angry anymore…it was more like exasperated. "Break that and you won't get any allowance until you go to Hogwarts, Jack!" Jack put the medallion swiftly back on the shelf. "Dougie! Don't put that into your mouth! Dougie!"

But Dougie was no more. Instead, a very handsome stallion was standing in the middle of the shop.

"Right," George had rushed forward. "I'll fix that. No worries, it's absolutely free. Won't charge you for the Morphing Munchies either."

You've got to hand it to them; they really know what they're doing. Because with one flick of his wand, George made the stallion disappear and the boy reappear.

"That was wicked, Doug!" Jack had been looking at his brother in awe. He'd turned to his mother to ask for one of those and soon their requests were flowing again. Their mother unmistakably had given up on reasoning with them and simply answered everything with 'no'. Both Fred and George had offered to help out, but she had simply smiled and told them her husband was bound to come any minute now. In the meantime, she'd just stick to telling her children 'no'. They were in enough trouble already with sneaking off like they did.

So we retreated back to the counter and continued to look at the show before us until the bell announced someone entering the shop. The mother turned around with so much hope on her face that it was almost sad to see the person that had entered the shop was only Harry.

"Hi!" I said, surprised.

"Hi," he smiled, but before he could continue, the two boys stopped begging their mother for prank items.

"Mum! That's Harry Potter!" Dougie was pulling his mother's sleeve.

"I can see his scar, Mum!" Jack said excitedly.

"Dougie! Jack!" she scoffed. "You do _not_ talk about people like that!"

"He won the League!" Jack continued while still ignoring his mother. "Can I go ask for his autograph?"

"No!" She looked up at us with the biggest apologetic smile I'd ever seen. And _I_ was always being dragged along when Mum had to buy the twins new robes because they'd burned their old ones.

"So sorry," she continued softly.

"Oh, I grew up with those two." I pointed at the twins who were looking more sullen with every snigger that Harry tried to suppress.

Fortunately for her, her husband showed up moments later. The boys were so happy to see him and tell him all their adventures about sneaking off and turning into magnificent stallions, that the prank shop soon lay forgotten. Their mother pushed them out of the shop before they could change their minds and the excited voice of Jack could be heard until long after the door had closed itself.

"Wow," Harry said, "Is it like this every day?" Since he'd been away for most of the time during the last month, I merely shrugged. "You _do_ get used to it. And, as I'd already told that woman, I _did_ grow up with Fred and George." I turned to them with my most angelic face.

"It'll never work, sis!" Fred shook his head.

"Yeah…how Mum still believes you when you tell her you haven't done anything while blaming us…complete mystery!" George joined his brother.

"I had years of complete and utter blundering from you two to learn from," I smiled.

"Thanks," George said sarcastically. He still wasn't quite over the mickey I'd been taking out of him and Luna. But Fred laughed very hard and steered George to the back. "We'll lock off, Gin…"

"Ginny!" I yelled back.

Fred stuck his head around the corner of the curtain, "Ginevra. You go off and have fun with Harry. Well, not _too_ much fun…" He flashed one last wicked grin and walked away.

"How about a walk?"

I nodded happily and took the arm he offered me.

"So…Quidditch practice finished early?" I asked. "I didn't even know when you would get back!"

"Five minutes ago," Harry answered simply. "Ice-cream?"

We walked onto the streets when suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant, bear-like black dog jumped at Harry.

"Hullo, Snuffles!" he grinned.

"Since when do you own a dog?" I asked apprehensively. "And why do you call it 'Snuffles'? It looks a bit…daunting to me. A bit like a Grim." And a bit like Sirius in his animal form, but I didn't tell him that. He'd go straight into one of his sulking moods and I wouldn't be able to pull him out of it before he'd go back abroad to play Quidditch again. Which was probably tomorrow…

But Harry smiled genuinely and started to pat Snuffles' head. "He started to hang out at practice and nobody knew who he was." I made a mental note to ask Rachel about it. "I asked around to see if it belonged to someone, but it didn't. So, I decided to take him home with me."

"Right. And you didn't have any space in your letters to let me know about it, of course."

He shot a sideways glance at me. "Well, no, I only decided to take him with me about an hour ago. You _do_ like dogs, don't you?"

"Of course!" I laughed as I bent down to stroke Snuffles. He reacted by licking my face. "Thanks mate!" I grinned at him.

"Ah, he likes you!" Harry beamed happily. "He wouldn't let Wood near him. It was quite funny to watch…so, can I still buy you this ice-cream or are you too mad at me?"

I gave him a 'what do you think'-look and turned back to Snuffles. "What do you say if we let your owner buy us ice-cream?"

Snuffles barked enthusiastically.

"Ice-cream it is!" Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, Snuffles happily running after us. It had reappeared after the war, with Florean Fortescue as the owner, although he never really was his old self again…still, his knack for making the best ice-cream you could ever get had all but disappeared.

"Great Scott!" Fortescue exclaimed when he saw us. "You're the spitting image of Lily and James! Has anyone ever told you that?"

Harry was looking very amused, but I couldn't. Everywhere we went, it always was 'Oh look, Lily and James!'. Even the several different editions of the _Prophet_ and _Witch Weekly_ and magazines like that mentioned our resemblance to Harry's parents when- and wherever the opportunity arose. And quite frankly, it was starting to irritate me to no end. You'd think it was some bloody curse that made Potter-men fall for redheaded women!

"Oh sod it!" I groaned as we started to walk after buying our ice-creams.

"What?" Harry asked inquiringly. He'd given up on keeping his ice-cream from Snuffles and was now letting his dog eat every last bit of it.

"Don't you get enough of people telling us we look like your parents? Like it's some sodding curse or something?"

Harry actually started to laugh. "I've got to show you something," he said as we walked through the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London. We took the tube where we got curious looks from the Muggles since Harry was wearing the Holyhead Harpies' scarf Fred and George had given him for his birthday, but he happily ignored them and kept patting Snuffles' head.

When we finally got to Grimmauld Place, he pulled me towards the mantelpiece in the library. There, he pointed at an old wizarding picture of what seemed to be a very happy couple.

"Who are they?" I asked confused. The blond wizard stopped swirling the dark-haired witch around and both of them waved enthusiastically at Harry.

Harry simply smiled. "Ron found it when we were cleaning the attic. I reckon my Dad left it with Sirius when they went into hiding. Or maybe Sirius liked having a picture of my grandparents around."

"You're joking!" I blurted before I could stop myself.

"My Dad took more after his Mum, except for the glasses…I asked Remus about it and he told me that my grandfather was everything my Dad wasn't. My grandmother was the one that kept making jokes and had gotten a job as a children's Healer at St. Mungo's. My grandfather was the responsible one who worked at the Ministry."

"So no Potter-curse?" I asked Harry.

He shook his head vigorously. "None whatsoever. My mother's parents, on the other hand…"

I glared at him.

"Right. Just joking, of course."

* * *

That evening, Hermione came over to discuss some change in the wedding plans. I had wanted to cancel our meeting to spend some quality time with Harry, but he told me that he had stuff to do and would meet me for breakfast the following morning after which he would leave for a friendly match in Ecuador. 

Before I could get mad at him for not letting me into his life, he had dropped me off at home and left Snuffles in my care, telling me that he wouldn't be able to take care of him since he would be gone tomorrow and Hermione and Ron still had Crookshanks around.

"Since when do you own a dog?" Hermione asked me as Snuffles greeted her happily at the door. Stupid question really, since she'd been at my place the day before to pick something up and should have noticed that I didn't have a dog then.

"I don't," I said. "It's Harry's. He showed up in Diagon Alley today with a big, black dog." I poured her a cup of tea, which she gratefully accepted. "You'll never guess what name he's given it."

"Bear?" Hermione shrugged. "I didn't even know he would be back. I thought it wouldn't be for another fortnight." She looked up as if she'd suddenly realized something. "But why are you here? With me? I would have come tomorrow or whenever Harry would be abroad again."

"You and I are friends and '_I'm supposed to spend quality time with my friends_'," I quoted Harry, "He doesn't want to be that kind of boyfriend that doesn't allow his girlfriend to spend time with her friends."

"But he's away all the time!" Hermione exclaimed.

I sighed. "He had some stuff to do and he leaves again for Ecuador tomorrow. Anyway, for some reason, he thought it would be appropriate to call an enormous, bear-like, black dog that looks like it could eat a Hippogriff, _Snuffles_."

Hermione had just taken a sip of her tea that now came spraying out of her mouth. "He did what?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" I nodded in agreement. "And to think that I have to take care of it while he's gone…it's a good thing I haven't got Arnold anymore, because Snuffles would have eaten it before you could say 'Pygmy Puff'."

"He's never told you, has he?" Hermione said seriously.

"What? That he picked up a stray dog after practice to bring home with him only to realize that he wouldn't be here that much, so maybe I would be so nice as to take care of it while he would be gone? No, never mentioned it."

"We used to call Sirius Snuffles."

Oh.

Well, that's…big…

"He does bear some kind of resemblance to Sirius…don't you reckon?" I finally said kind of lamely.

"Well, yes," Hermione nodded. "Oh, I knew living in that house wouldn't be good for his health! It reminds him far too much of Sirius! I told him that he should get professional help with all the losses he's gone through and the battle he had to fight with Voldemort. He is too young to have been through everything he has! Nobody should have gone through all that. It's just…"

"Hermione," I interrupted her, "You're babbling."

"Oh right," she said weakly, "Sorry. But you have to admit he's away quite often."

"He plays Quidditch."

"But still, like tonight…it's his only night here, in England, for a month and he doesn't spend it with you."

"I'm certain there's a perfectly good reason for it," I said confidently.

"Yeah…there probably is…" But she didn't sound very certain about it.

* * *

The following morning, Harry picked me up for breakfast before I would go to the twins and he would depart for Ecuador. 

"You named your dog after Sirius," I confronted him when I saw him.

"Well yes, they do look a bit alike, don't they?"

"I had to find out from _Hermione_ that you named your dog after Sirius."

He looked a bit sheepish. "I thought you knew."

"No, I didn't, Harry!" I exclaimed exasperatedly. "Ever since you became part of the National Team you don't tell me _anything_ anymore!"

"Come on, Gin! I'm busy!"

I sighed. "I don't want to fight…"

"I'm not fighting," Harry said stubbornly.

"Fine, _I_ won't fight. Not when you're about to leave again. When will you be back?"

"Saturday in two weeks…how about dinner then? I will keep my evening free for you only." He smiled that typical smile of his.

"All right," I sighed. "You have to go now, don't you?"

Harry nodded. "I'll write," he promised, "I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled softly, "And I'll write you too."

And with that, Harry Disapparated to wherever he had to be.

* * *

"…better not let her see this then," I heard George say as I entered the shop. 

"Better not let who see what then?" I asked curiously.

"Nothing," Fred said at the same time as George said, "Nobody," while trying to hide something. I walked over to them and grabbed whatever they were trying to hide from me. The _Prophet_!

"What's this?" I asked as I turned to the front page.

"Well…" George started, but I'd already seen the headlines.

_Harry Potter cheats on Harpies' Chaser Ginevra Weasley_

"No…" I said wide-eyed. I looked at my brothers, but they simply shrugged. "But it's _Harry_ we're talking about! He would _never_ do that! He's too damn _noble_!" I looked at the picture. A picture of Harry and a very attractive witch, sitting together in a restaurant.

"He's your boyfriend," Fred said, "So you would know."

"And anyway," George continued, "Skeeter wrote it. She's says it happened yesterday, but well, he was with you so it couldn't have happened, could it?"

I nodded absentmindedly. He had other stuff to do yesterday…but this was _Harry_! Harry 'I don't want to cause other people harm' Potter. He probably was being nice to some other witch. But somewhere in my mind, the same thought kept coming up over and over again…why hadn't he told me? He could have told me if it was part of a dare or if he had promised to meet the sister of one of his teammates. I would have understood…wouldn't have liked it, but I would've understood.

* * *

Harry kept his promise and wrote letters. Admittedly, they were very short, but they came. Along with the articles in the _Prophet_. They didn't manage to get a picture every time, but they managed to get one often enough. Sometimes it was the same girl twice, but most of the time he got caught on camera together with a new witch. Some of them were even speculated not being magical at all. 

I cut all of them out of the papers and kept them for when Harry would show up…well, I kept the ones that I managed to rescue from Snuffles… And finally, just as Harry had promised, he came to pick me up on the day he'd said he would be back.

"Hello gorgeous," he smiled as I opened the door. He gave me a kiss and looked at me expectantly.

"Who are they?" I asked as I held the papers up.

Harry didn't even blanch, which I found quite remarkable. Instead, he took all the clippings out of my hands, put them on the table and took my hands in his. "You have to trust me, Ginny. They mean absolutely nothing. I can't tell you everything, I'm sorry. But I can tell you that there's a grant total of one woman in my life and she's standing right in front of me. Being gorgeously angry, might I add."

I couldn't keep a chuckle from escaping my lips. Harry smiled and continued, "How about we make some new gossip by going out for dinner?"

I only rolled my eyes exasperatedly in answer.

* * *

But the articles didn't stop. And even though I knew you should never take Rita Skeeter for her word. And even though Fred and George always found something in the article to prove it was a lie…there still was this little thought that kept nagging in the back of my mind. Why didn't Harry tell me what was going on? Why did he keep writing letters that were very sweet, but also very much lacking in information? Why didn't he trust me? 

When one morning, for the umpteenth time, George asked me how Harry was, I snapped and said that he should stop bugging me about my love life and go back to Luna or something.

"Oh, but we broke up!" George said, "Didn't Luna tell you?"

"George!" I scolded, "Why did you break up with her? She's so nice! Weird…but nice."

"I didn't!" he exclaimed indignantly. "She did! She came over about a week ago and told me very seriously that she was awfully sorry, but she didn't like me enough to keep our relationship going. She said that if she had to choose somebody from our family, she'd rather have Ron."

"But…he's getting married!"

George gave me 'the look'. It was a special look we'd developed over the years as siblings and that answered every question the others would ask. Mum would always get mad at us, especially Ron and me, because we had specialized 'the look' into a means of conversation.

Right now it said that I was being very exasperating. And suddenly I felt very guilty about being so obsessed with the articles written about Harry that I didn't have time to notice one of my brothers had broken up with his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, George," I said softly.

He looked at me blankly.

"You _can_ say _something_," I said finally.

"What? I agree with you!" he shrugged.

I rolled my eyes and hugged him, "Thank you, George."

"Anytime Ginny."

* * *

**A/N: **Review? 


	17. I'm keeping Snuffles!

**A/N:** You're going to hate me...believe me, you will. So, before that happens, just let me tell you how much I love all your reviews. And I want to thank KD for betaing this.

Just be nice, okay?

Oh! And this is dedicated to my aunt who celebrates her fiftieth birthday tomorrow. So, happy birthday!

* * *

I'm keeping Snuffles!

_HARRY POTTER IN LOVE?_

_Britain's most eligible bachelor, bachelor no more._

_By Rita Skeeter._

_TOULOUSE, Saturday, Dec. 9 – Your favourite reporter was spending a very much-earned holiday when, to her utmost astonishment, she stumbled across Harry Potter and a very pretty young witch, Nina Tennfjord. Could this mean what witches all over the world have been dreading? Could Harry Potter finally have given up his bachelor life? Because that dinner wasn't the first one, nor the only one that week. Ever since the Boy Who Lived went to France to play a preliminary match in preparation for the World Cup, he has been seen daily with the good-looking blonde witch._

"_I always thought he was having some kind of affair with that Harpies' Chaser," Meaghan McCormack, keeper for England says in an exclusive interview. "But to be honest, he's never talked of her since we started practicing together and she hasn't been around. Her brother, you know, the Auror? He's been to practice a couple of times, but she never has."_

_Tennfjord, who followed her education at Durmstrang Institute, belongs to the Norwegian upper wizarding class and her family line can even be traced back to the royal family. They were of good help during the war with possible information against You Know Who since they owned large estates in the mountains. Many giants joined forces with wizards fighting You Know Who when the Tennfjords convinced them._

"_Oh yes, very valuable indeed!" the Norwegian Minister for Magic nods eagerly when asked about. "They are also very generous…_

Frustrated, I threw the Prophet with a very nice bow into the bin. Sod Skeeter and her endless need for gossiping! Sod the Tennfjords and their impeccable bloodline and money! And especially, sod Harry!

"Now, now, _that_'s not how a proper lady should speak, Ginevra!" Fred entered the shop, his arms loaded with boxes that had to be ranged back onto the shelves. Even with all those boxes between us, I could see his grin.

"Ah well," I sighed, ignoring the fact that I had spoken my frustrations out loud and taking some boxes from him, "I learned from the best, didn't I?"

"That you did," Fred said with a nostalgic look on his face, "That you did indeed. So, what's he done this time? Got engaged to Ron, didn't he? I tried to warn Hermione, but would she listen?"

How is it that even when I'm feeling terribly frustrated, angry and about to start throwing stuff, he still manages to make a smile appear on my face?

"Britain's most eligible bachelor is bachelor no more," I quoted the article darkly. "Apparently I was only having a short, yet torrid affair seeing as I didn't meet up with him…"

"But he's busy," Fred interrupted me.

"…while _Ron_ went over there quite a few times!" I finished while glaring at Fred for interrupting me.

"Ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew it! They _are_ getting married!

"Fred!" I scolded him as I slapped him across his head. The following moment, I started giggling like mad.

"Hey Missy Gigglypants," Fred shook his head while levitating a few more boxes over to me. "Put these away, will you?"

* * *

In the week that followed I decided to stick to the much safer magazines like_ The Quibbler_. At least they weren't writing nonsense…er…well, nonsense about Harry. I'm not absolutely certain about the content of their other articles like the Stubby Boardman one. Sirius sure had gotten a good laugh out of _that_ one! 

So I was sitting in the Burrow's kitchen with a cup of tea in one hand and a quill in my other to fill out a quiz about how you might come back in your next life. The questions were so absurd that I'd given up on actually trying to find one that fit me and simply ticked them randomly. So far, I would come back as a Nargle (that was the only time I had actually _tried_ to find the right answers and I was quite pleased to find out I would become an animal that spend his or her life in mistletoe, trying to jump out and attack ignorant witches and wizards only out for a good snog), a Heliopath (not sure what to think of that), a Thestral (definitely not sure what to think of that!) and right now I was going into the direction of an Augurey.

There was a rustle of robes and a soft "Hi!" as Hermione sat down next to me.

"What would you say is your lifelong ambition…" I read the next question, "A: To capture a Crumple-Horned Snorkack." Hermione snorted and muttered something that sounded very much like 'Luna'. "B: To find out how Muggles reproduce. C: To start a new singing sensation with Stubby Boardman and Cornelius Fudge called 'Going down with Heliopaths'. D: To find a cure for Wrackspurts or E: To return as a ghost to the Ministry of Magic to make them stop the Rotfang conspiracy."

I looked up at Hermione expectantly.

"Oh!" she said surprised. "Er…D?"

I ticked the answer and turned the magazine to see how much points it was worth. Three…so that would mean…oh, I was back at being a Nargle…

"Er…Ginny?" she asked tentatively. "Why are you reading _The Quibbler_?"

"Because it's the only paper or magazine out there that isn't writing lies about Harry," I muttered darkly.

"Oh give it a rest, Ginny!" Ron said from the other side of the table. "He's not cheating on you!"

"I never said he was," I said simply.

"What Ron means…" Hermione shot her fiancé a significant look. "…is that there's a perfectly good reason why he's meeting this Norwegian witch."

Ron snorted which cost him a glare from me. "OK _Ronald_," I continued glaring. "Since you seem to know everything better, why is Harry avoiding me? Why is he seeing pretty Norwegian witches? Why isn't he telling me anything?"

Ron visibly blanched at this. "Er…I think _he_ should tell you…"

I shook my head and turned back to the quiz. Maybe I could salvage it and still come back as an Augurey.

"Oh you're here!" Mum entered the kitchen excitedly, closely followed by Fleur and Bill. Oh bugger, they were looking way too perky…the last time Bill had looked like this was when he and Phlegm had announced their engagement.

"I'm going to have a baby!" Fleur said excitedly.

Unfortunately, I'd just taken a sip of my tea, which meant that I spat the contents of my mouth all over the table. "From Bill?"

Mum, Bill and Ron looked at me disapprovingly. Hermione did a very good job of trying to hide her laugh while Fleur was looking gobsmacked. "But of course!" she said.

I looked around the kitchen as I put my cup back on the table. "But…" I said, looking at Bill. "But…" I repeated to Mum. "Pregnant?" I asked Fleur.

She nodded happily. "We're going to have zhe most beautiful baby girl!"

The moment I caught Bill's eyes I realized we were thinking the same thing… we've still got about nine months to make her see sense.

* * *

Having a pregnant Phlegm around the house is about the worst thing that can happen, ever. With Christmas approaching fast, Mum insisted that I spent every waking moment that I wasn't playing Quidditch (not that much, actually, since the season was very cold and the World Cup was coming up), working at the shop or helping Hermione (and even _that_ often happened at the Burrow) with her. 

But with Fleur being Fleur and insisting that her unborn daughter (Hah! No luck with that, eh?) got used to French food from the very beginning, she came around every day to help prepare Christmas dinner. In early November, yes.

"Mum!" I groaned when her face appeared in the fire just after I'd gotten out of the shower after a very long practice in the rain.

"Oh sweetie," she smiled, "I just wanted to invite you over for dinner. Merlin knows you've been busy! Angelina, Fred and George will be there too and your father is dying to see you again."

"Fred and Angelina are back together again?" I said perplexed. Working at 3W gave me firsthand knowledge of the gossips concerning the twins. Especially that odd thing Fred and Angelina call a relationship. And according to the latest gossips (Fred being grumpy and snapping at the customers which caused me and George to keep him in the back) they definitely weren't together yesterday.

"Of course," Mum smiled a little confused, "They have been together since your birthday."

"Right, of course," I nodded quickly. It wasn't up to me to tell the truth. "I'll be right over…are Ron and Hermione coming too?"

"Ron is abroad with the Aurors, but Hermione has some things to discuss for her wedding."

"I just saw her yesterday!"

"Oh Ginny…" Mum was looking at me with a very nostalgic look in her eyes. "You'll understand everything when you and Harry get married. Oh, the rolls are ready, I'll see you soon!" And without further notice, she disappeared.

Er…not to sound too annoyed or anything, but shouldn't the bloke _propose_ first before they can start planning my wedding?

Snuffles started to bark. "I knew you'd agree with me," I smiled at him while patting his head.

At that moment the doorbell sounded. Frustrated with the fact that Mum would probably kill me if I got there late, I went to open the door to see a large bouquet of flowers staring up at me.

"Yes?" I said suspiciously. If the twins had anything to do with this, I couldn't be careful enough.

"Got an evening free for a very guilty bloke?"

I pushed the flowers to the side and looked at Harry.

"Ron told me about the papers," he said softly. "And I really can't explain everything, but I am not cheating on you."

"I know you're not," I sighed. "Look, come in. I'll put the flowers in a vase while you can floo Mum and explain to her why I'm late for dinner, all right?"

"Your…your mum?" he blanched visibly.

"You'll live," I smirked as I patted his arm. "Now shoo! Or she _will_ kill you."

As I went around the cupboards to find a vase that was large enough, I heard Harry talking to Mum…

"No problem, Molly…oh…no, Ron's okay. He says 'hi'…I'll have to go back tomorrow, just came over to see Ginny…" I smiled. I _knew_ he wasn't cheating on me! "Hermione's still busy as usual?…I can imagine…oh no, we couldn't!…No, Molly, we will be there shortly…yes…of course…yes…see you in a bit!"

His head came out of the fire. "Your mum is expecting us…Snuffles!" Snuffles all but attacked Harry and started to lick the living light out of him. Harry happily reacted and soon they were rolling over the floor.

He was happier to see Snuffles than me?

Harry seemed to have completely forgotten me and apart from the flowers he hadn't even given me so much as a quick peck on the cheek. How long had it been? Five weeks?

"Hem…hem!"

Harry immediately straightened. The look in his eyes was questioning, as if he was wondering what was going on.

"Sod it, Harry," I said softly, shaking my head. "Let's go to the Burrow…are you taking Snuffles?"

I Disapparated without giving him a chance to answer.

Before I really realized I'd arrived, something knocked me over. "Thank Merlin you've arrived, kiddo!" Bill's voice sounded next to my ear.

"Charlie's here?" I felt a laugh about to erupt within me.

Bill grimaced.

"You know she married you, don't you?" I sniggered.

"He's telling her about his scars!"

"_You_'ve got scars."

Bill sighed audibly.

"What would your baby say if he saw his father like this? Unable to stand up for himself?"

"Excuse me, might I add that contrary to some siblings of mine, I managed to secure a job that requires fighting and self-defence skills…all by myself? I'm not the one that had to beg some twin brothers for a job."

"What? I believe the proper job description was _'Verity is on maternity leave, we need help'_." I felt a smirk appear on my face. He was going to pay for calling me 'kiddo'. "At least my significant other isn't in there, flirting with my brother."

Bill started to grin. "Speaking of significant others…I can say that my wife is in the same building as me. Where's Harry?"

The smirk on my face only grew bigger.

"Well? Where's your boyfriend?"

"Er…here. Hullo Bill."

Bill turned around only to turn back to me immediately, "That's low, Ginny."

"But I still won," I smirked.

"Harry was supposed to be…" Bill turned to Harry.

"France," Harry supplied.

"He was supposed to be in France."

"I'll go and talk Charlie out of running off with your wife," I grinned. "Come on Snuffles, there's someone I want you to meet!"

Snuffles barked happily and followed me into the living room.

"But…" I heard Harry stutter, "That's _my_ dog!"

"Yeah?" came Bill's answer. "Get used to it."

"…yeah…this one's from the Horntail…" I heard Charlie saying. Fleur was looking very amused. Of course there wasn't anything going on between them, but Bill sometimes got very jealous on nothing. And Charlie's away so often that he actually gets away with it.

"Really?" Fleur smiled.

"Oh definitely!" Charlie smiled his 'in two minutes you're leaving your husband to go on a date with me'-smile.

"You'll never win, Charlie," I said. "Bill's got far more scars than you."

"I should have known Mum would invite you over," Charlie laughed. "What's this I hear about you working for the twins?"

"_Temporarily_ working for twins," I specified. "Still trying to get out of it."

Charlie laughed again, but stopped when Snuffles reacted to his laugh with a bark.

"Bloody hell…" he muttered, eyeing Snuffles. "That's not…is it?"

"Charlie, I would like you to meet Snuffles."

Charlie's eyes shot up to mine in amazement. "What?"

"Ginny Weasley, that's _my_ dog!" Harry came into the room, followed by Bill who sat down next to his wife. She was wearing a very large smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes. "Who takes care of him?"

"Oh, not this again! I told you I can't tell you anything!"

"I'M NOT…" I took a deep breath. "I'm _not_ discussing this right now, Harry."

"Trouble in paradise?" Charlie grinned at Fleur.

"Oh no, Charlie!" I said quickly, "You're not changing the subject. I know Fleur can take care of herself and it's innocent and all, but you really can't keep flirting with the mother of your nephew."

"What!" Harry and Charlie said as one.

"We're having a baby," Fleur smiled happily while lovingly squeezing Bill's hand.

I was certain Charlie's eyes would pop out, but then a smirk appeared on his face. "But what about us?" He made puppy eyes at Fleur while Bill started glaring again.

"I'm sorry," Fleur smiled as she scooted closer to Bill. "But I'm certain Maïté would get mad if she saw us togezher."

"What!" Bill and I turned to Charlie.

"Yeah…" he scratched his head sheepishly. "I have a girlfriend."

Seriously…the world as we know it has ceased to exist.

* * *

Suddenly, it was December. Verity came back to the shop, but somehow Fred and George managed to talk me into staying to help with the Christmas rush. 

Of course, this was only after I made them sign a contract that stated that I would stop working for them on January 1st of 2001. I'm not completely stupid.

The stupid thing was that I was happy with the opportunity to take my mind off of things. I had stopped reading the papers and even though Hermione didn't approve of this at all, she kept me up to date on what happened in the world _besides_ Harry's new conquests. Unfortunately, I'm famous too and reporters soon started to follow me around and ask what I thought of everything that was going on. And what did Harry send me to ease my mind?

Two sodding letters of two sentences each in two bloody weeks!

It was after one of those Saturdays (yes…the twins had managed to get me do Saturdays too…) about two weeks before Christmas that I got home totally broken. I reheated some of Mum's leftovers with a Heating Charm, shot another Charm at the fireplace and sat down on the couch after turning the Wireless on. They were playing a new Wireless Drama and I was soon becoming hooked.

An hour had passed when I heard sounds from outside. I knew immediately who it was and I wasn't very happy.

"Oh? You're alive?" I said as I opened the door to let Harry in. "Didn't think you would like me to know."

"Gin…" he tried, "You know…"

"No, I _don't_ know." I interrupted him agitatedly. I had been working in the shop from eight o'clock in the morning until seven o'clock in the evening with two little breaks in which I was being mobbed by reporters. I reckon I had a right to be agitated. "I don't know what it's like to be away for Quidditch for a fortnight and only be able to write two bloody letters to your girlfriend. I hope some bloody buggering Bludgers injured your writing ability, because that's the _only_ way you're getting away with not writing. Because I _do_ know what it's like when _I_'m away for practice. I am being offered to bring my beloved ones with me and if they are not able to make it, I have owls to my disposition to bloody write them. Or I have a bloody fireplace to floo them. I can even bloody Apparate there!"

"You won't understand, Gin," he shook his head.

"Oh! That's just me. Plain old Ginny who won't understand anything. _Just stay at Hogwarts, Ginny. You'll be safe there_." I mimicked my mum. "But who was risking her sodding life at the final battle to help mister I'm-so-great-because-I-vanquished-a-big-old-Dark-Lord-and-lived-to-tell-it Potter? Who was being possessed by said big old Dark Lord at said _safe_ Hogwarts?"

"Gin…" Harry interrupted me.

"Oh well done! Ten points to Gryffindor for answering correctly!"

"Bloody hell, Gin!" Harry started to get angry too. "I _know_ you can take care of yourself. I've known you for 10 years, I remember you being possessed!"

"Could've fooled me!" I was screaming by now. "If I recall correctly, you've forgotten that little detail of my life before."

Harry looked at me as if I'd attacked him and then said slowly, "It's not my fault if you don't trust me."

"Bloody right I don't trust you! Have you _seen_ the papers? And all I get to comfort me are two _sodding_ letters!" I grabbed one and read it out loud, "_Dear Gin, I'm having a great time even though practice is hell as usual. Love, Harry._ Great comfort for your girlfriend that's being attacked by every bloody living paparazzi to ask if she cares about being cheated on."

"Gin…"

"It doesn't matter," I said, more calmly now, "because I don't believe them." I looked up at him. "Why don't _you_ trust me enough to really tell me what's been going on?"

He looked in pain. "I told you, I can't."

"Well…" I said slowly. "I reckon you better leave then."

"Gin!"

"And don't bother talking to me until you start explaining what the hell has been going on."

"Fine!" he said angrier than I'd ever seen him. "But don't think you can come crawling back to me tomorrow!"

"Fine! But then I'm keeping Snuffles!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" And without turning to look at me, he walked through the door and slammed it in my face.

* * *

**A/N:** I'll just hide under a rock while you review, all right? 


	18. Oh that!

**A/N:** Thanks you for your reviews! And I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update, but well, this was another difficult chapter to write. So I thank you all for being patient with me after leaving you with that cliffhanger. And thanks to KD for betaing and knowing how Mrs. Weasley should react.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

Oh…_that_!

I stared at the door. Surely he would come back any minute now and start apologizing and explaining why he hadn't been able to send letters. Right? I mean; this was Harry we were talking about! Harry, who doesn't leave his girlfriend without explaining things. Harry, who loved Snuffles more than anything and wouldn't leave him here. Harry, who…

Ah, you see! The door was already opening and any moment now, Harry would get in to start apologizing…

I looked up expectantly.

"Wow! It's nice to be welcomed!" Tammy grinned. "But I actually wanted to surprise you when I came home early. I brought you _Sinterklaas_ candy!"

Oh bugger…

"I think I've made the biggest mistake of my life," I said softly, my eyes still not leaving the door. Tammy walked over to me and took the letter that was still stuck in my hand out of it.

"Right," she said when she finished it. "We'll need reinforcement." She walked to the fireplace, threw some Floo powder in it and stuck her head in the fire. "Hello Mrs. W!" I heard her say. "I might need your help with Ginny over here…"

Within seconds, Mum had entered the kitchen with some leftover apple pie and her best homemade cinnamon ice-cream. She divided everything in three, gave all of us a part and sat down at the table. In the meantime, Tammy had gotten her Chocolate Letters that she'd brought back from the Netherlands, out of her bag and divided them into large pieces for everyone.

"What happened?" Mum asked once she finished conjuring cups of tea.

"I may have broken up with Harry…" I said quietly while stabbing the food with my fork as if it were entirely his fault.

"And why?" Tammy asked cautiously.

"Because he bloody won't tell me what he's been doing when he isn't writing me!" I exclaimed furiously. It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Mum decided not to tell me off for the swearing.

"Don't you think you might have overreacted?" she asked instead.

"Overreacted!" I shouted. "This has been going on for ages! Ever since he joined the National Team and had to go abroad to practice and play against other countries. So no, I _don't_ reckon I overreacted."

"Ginny…" Mum said while taking my hand in hers. "He's still playing for the Cannons…_and_ he's playing with the National Team…"

"He's never told me anything, Mum," I said stubbornly. "Ron knows. How can he tell _Ron_ and not me? I…I _love_ him…"

"Finally!" Tammy exclaimed. "Oh…" she continued when she saw the look on my face, "You probably realized this a long time ago…here, have some chocolate, it will make you feel better."

Suddenly, tears started to fall down my cheeks.

"Come here…" Mum enveloped me in a hug. And as she did that, I realized that I'd actually missed living at home…

* * *

I didn't get much sleep that night, so when the sun rose, I got up too. Tammy actually bumped into the doorpost (instead of walking _through_ it) when she saw me sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea in my hands. 

She tried to convince me to take a day off. To do some quality feel-good shopping, or spend a day at a beauty centre. She even wanted me to simply stay home and sleep!

But I couldn't do that.

All night long I'd been mulling things over, wondering if I could have been wrong.

In the end I came to the conclusion that a night without sleep was very bad and that I needed something to distract me. So I went to the shop. Christmas would be in two weeks, which would mean that there would be plenty of people to take my mind off of things.

And I couldn't have been more correct.

It was so hectic that I didn't even realize Hermione had entered the shop until I heard someone saying, "Harry showed up this morning, going on and on about how it was so unfair and that he had a right to keep things private and you should just trust him and that it was, after all, his_ job_…when he saw me standing in the room and pushed me out of the door."

I smiled a weak smile.

"He's a prat," Hermione said simply.

"I have to finish this," I answered. "Could you go back and make some tea? And send Verity out…I'll try to join you as fast as I can…"

It took me half an hour in which Fred waited on the customers, George rushed back from a meeting at Gringotts and Verity and I tried to manage the cash register. Hermione brought me a cup of tea (which I completely forgot because of all the rushing I had to do) and patiently waited while we tried to help everybody in the store.

"We need more Canary Creams," Fred stated suddenly.

"I'll go!" I said quickly as I handed back the change to my last customer. I turned around and pulled Hermione with me before anyone could call me back.

Rummaging through the millions of boxes I realized that we would soon be through most of the stock. I pulled some boxes containing the Creams out and banished them to the front of the store, then turned around to look at Hermione.

"So…" she said.

"Yeah…" I nodded.

"Are you…are you okay?"

"Yeah…I think so…anyway, there wasn't much else I could do. He doesn't _trust_ me!"

Hermione smiled an apologetic smile. "He said that about you too…"

"Look," I started stubbornly, but George interrupted me…

"Ginny, I just sold the last Morphing Munchies. Could you give me a couple? Oh, and could you start the inventory while you're back there?"

"Sure," I said as I grabbed a box with a couple of dozen Munchies, which I quickly banished into George's hands. Ever since that boy had changed into a stallion in the middle of the shop, we only kept one Morphing Munchies on display. To avoid having to walk every other second into the back, we kept a few Munchies behind the counter.

"Thanks!" And he disappeared again.

Everything stayed silent as I looked around for the inventory list and started to count all the boxes.

Eventually, Hermione cleared her throat. "Don't you…er…don't you think that the papers might be…well…right?"

I spun around so fast that Hermione backed away.

"Well…there must be a reason why he didn't tell you anything and you remember that article Skeeter wrote in October…"

"Which one?" I snorted.

"Ginny, you know I really don't want to be right, but maybe he _is_ cheating…"

"No, he isn't," I stated stubbornly.

"But he _could_…" Hermione tried again.

"Hermione…if somebody told you Ron was cheating on you right now…what would you say?"

"That's rubbish!" Hermione laughed. "Ron _loves_ me!"

"Yes. Harry _didn't_ cheat on me."

Hermione took a deep breath as I continued to count the boxes. "Alright," she nodded. "Let's say he didn't cheat. Then why did you break up with him?"

I laughed a joyless laugh, "What do you tell Ron about your job?"

"What's…" she started, but she changed her mind the moment she saw the look I threw her. "Well, not much. You know, what with being an Unspeakable and such."

"But you do tell him things. He knows what you're up to."

A look of comprehension came over her face, "Oh Ginny…"

"Don't." I took a deep breath. "I already broke down yesterday in front of Tammy and Mum. I can't do it again, because I'm afraid I might change my mind and take Harry back."

"Do it then." She put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I simply snorted again. "Oh yes, that would be priceless! Ginny Weasley, coming to crawl back to Harry Potter after she so magnificently ditched him. That would do so much good for my ego. I reckon it would go with all the elbows in butter dishes and stuff. Besides, it was you and Luna that told me to stop acting star struck around him! I just can't lose the last bit of dignity I have and forgive him. Not when he is the one that doesn't trust me."

"If you're certain…" Hermione hesitated.

"I am," I nodded.

"Want me to talk to Harry?"

"Oh _yes_, because he _listens_ to _you_! Has either he or Ron ever read _Hogwarts: A History_?"

Her stomach started to rumble before she could answer and suddenly we both started to laugh really hard.

"That's what you get when you're best friend comes barging in and throws you out before you've been able to have breakfast!" she said when she had calmed down a bit. "Want to grab something to eat?"

* * *

Mum owled me the following morning to tell me that she couldn't possibly stop Harry from coming over for Christmas. 'He has been through so much, dear,' she wrote. 'And he's as much part of this family as you are. I hope you can understand." 

The problem was that I _did_ understand.

But I wrote back and simply said that I wouldn't make a scene but that they should not expect me to talk to him.

Mum answered that she hadn't expected less.

"I made you a _mousse au chocolat_," Fleur beamed when I entered the Burrow for Christmas dinner. Tammy had left that morning for the Netherlands. Without even asking, she had prolonged her stay here so I wouldn't be alone in the apartment.

"Sit here," Fleur dumped me on a chair. "Eat." She handed me a large bowl with chocolate. Why is it that whenever a woman is feeling sad, people feed her chocolate?

"Er…thanks," I said.

Mum entered the kitchen with a plate of roast potatoes and looked disapprovingly at the chocolate. "Fleur, do you want to keep her from eating tonight?" She grabbed the chocolate from me and put it back on the counter.

"Hey!" I said indignantly. All right, so maybe I think everybody is right to presume women want chocolate when they're feeling bad. Or when they've encountered Dementors. But then again, that applies to men too.

"After dinner, dear," Mum smiled. "Oh, and Harry's not coming. Apparently the team has been kept back in Australia. Ron might be later too."

I shrugged. I didn't care. Not even if he had just made that up as an excuse to avoid me. In the two weeks that had passed I hadn't changed my mind. I would _not_ start crawling back to Harry. _He_ was the one that didn't trust _me_, not the other way around.

"Oh!" Fleur's hand shot to her stomach.

"Is the baby alright?" Mum dropped what she was doing and looked worried at her daughter-in-law.

"Yes," Fleur smiled softly. "She kicked."

I rolled my eyes. No way was that baby going to be a girl.

* * *

Even though we were fighting, it was weird to celebrate Christmas without Harry. 

It was even weirder to have the whole family trying to avoid the _subject_ of Harry because of the fact that we were fighting.

"So…" Angelina said after a few awkward attempts at conversation. "What are you going to do next year?"

I looked at her. Of course she would know I wouldn't be working for the twins anymore. "I dunno…" I shrugged at last. "I really want to keep playing Quidditch, but with Tammy in the Netherlands, Rachel with the National Team and Natalie gone…we've been playing with the reserves, we even held try-outs for a new seeker, but Tammy will be back eventually and there aren't that many matches anyway." I sighed and looked at her. "I know it's stupid, but I miss him, you know?" I said softly.

"I know what you mean," she smiled sadly. "Every buggering time Fred broke up with me…or I with him, for that matter…I was a wreck. But Harry was wrong, Ginny. Whatever he's doing, you have the right to know. Even if he is cheating on you."

"He isn't," I said stubbornly.

Angelina looked at me sympathetically.

"You know what," I sighed again, "I'm not really feeling that well…I think I'm going home…"

"I'll bring you," Hermione started to get up, but I waved it away.

"It's alright," I smiled, "I just want to go to sleep."

"But…" Mum started.

"I'll floo tomorrow…say 'hi' to Ron, will you?"

"Wait," Fleur whipped out her wand and levitated the bowl with chocolate mousse out of the kitchen. "Take zhis with you."

"Thanks," I caught the bowl and Disapparated. When I got at home, I let myself fall down on the couch…this whole breaking up with Harry thing was going to be harder than I thought.

* * *

As the new year started, the wedding preparations for Ron and Hermione's wedding got more intense. I got dragged to the caterers, to the florist, to the wedding robes maker, to the bloody hotel where the wedding would be held. Oh yes, much to Mum's dismay, they had decided to hold the wedding in a hotel in London. Something about keeping the Muggles sane. 

Tonks went with us sometimes, since she was Hermione's bridesmaid. She definitely should have more female friends if she decides that Tonks and I are the ones that she trusts enough to not mess things up at the wedding. Ron only came with us when he wasn't out with Harry to find dress robes or something stupid like that…I didn't know if I should be happy or not with the fact that Harry was so obviously avoiding me, even though I did my fair share of that too.

It was one of the reasons I was glad for the Quidditch practices I had. Every time I went up in the air to fly, all my sorrows went away and I felt much better. I realized that I started to live for those practices, for the few matches we played.

For the few times I was absolutely _certain_ I wouldn't run into Harry.

It was after one of those practices that I bumped into Rachel on my way from the locker rooms.

"Hi Ginny!" she hugged me happily. "Oh, I miss you all so much!"

"Hi," I grinned, "National Team that bad, huh?"

"I'm regretting ever complaining on Morris…he wasn't that bad after all. So…er…is it true that you and Harry broke up?"

I rolled my eyes. "You know, for some reason that's all everybody wants to know." I started walking toward the exit and Rachel followed immediately. "But yes, we did."

The happy barks of Snuffles sounded through the doors.

"Hello Snuffles!" I opened my arms and Snuffles ran happily towards them.

"Oh he's cute!" Rachel cooed. "Where'd you get him?"

My head snapped up at her. What? "Er…it's Harry's…I'm taking care of him."

"Well, you should tell Harry he's got a cute dog." Rachel patted Snuffles' head.

"Hmpf!" I snorted. "We're not talking."

"Oh…I thought…you're taking care of…his…dog…"

I grinned. "I gained custody of Snuffles."

Rachel laughed out loud. "You're a smart witch, Ginny! Well, I have to run. Tell the team I said 'hi', all right?"

"Will do, give Wood my regards, okay?"

Rachel saluted me before Disapparating and I turned back to Snuffles.

"What is your owner up to, Snuffles?" I shook my head.

Snuffles licked my face in answer.

* * *

That weekend Hermione came to get me so we could go to another bridal shop. I really wanted her to make up her mind and pick some robes already, but for some reason she managed to find a new shop every week and decided to drag me over there. 

"Coming, coming!" I yelled as I rummaged through the living room in search of my wand. I really should stop losing it.

"Hi!" I heard Hermione's voice. "Are you ready?"

"Lost my wand," I groaned as I took the cushions off the couch.

"_Accio wand_!" Hermione smiled as my wand flew out of the bathroom.

"Thanks," I said sheepishly. "So, whereto?"

"I found the best shop ever!" Hermione beamed. "It's on Diagon Alley and…"

"There's still a shop in Diagon Alley we haven't been to yet?" I asked surprised as we started to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Yes. And it is gorgeous!"

"How can there still be a shop in Diagon Alley where we haven't been?"

Hermione gave me an exasperated look that suddenly changed into an anxious one.

"What?" I asked.

"Er…"

Well, that was a first! Hermione not knowing what to say!

"Hermione, what?" I asked again.

She kept looking from me to a spot behind me.

"What?" I turned around. "Oh…_that_…"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said apologizing. "Ron was supposed to meet us so he could go look for some dress robes…I didn't know…"

"It's all right," I sighed. And really, it was. Of course, I was still mad at him. And he hadn't explained anything yet, but if I would let that live my life…

"Ginny!" Ron greeted us surprised. Harry simply looked at me without saying anything.

"Hello Ron," I said as I hugged him quickly. Then I turned to Harry, "Rachel wants you to know that she reckons Snuffles is cute. She wants to know where you got him."

Something flickered across Harry's face and for a moment it looked as if he wanted to explain what had been going on. But then he withdrew any kind of emotion that may have shown on his face, turned to Ron and Hermione, told them he was supposed to be at the Quidditch training pitch and left.

"Ginny…" Ron started.

"Don't," I said. "It's his mess now. It's not up to you to fix it." I put a smile on my face. "So…are you coming with us to look at wedding robes?"

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. "You can't see it! It's bad luck."

"Thanks, Ginny!" Ron grinned. "I'll just be at Madam Malkin's to see how the alterations are coming." He pecked Hermione on the lips while I quickly turned my head. Hey, he's still my _brother_!

"We'll meet you there," she smiled as we stepped into the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione led the way to a little shop that we had missed before, apparently. And I have to credit her; it was _gorgeous_.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. I walked over to these lovely robes, made out of silk. "Oh, Hermione…"

"It's perfect, isn't it?"

"Uhuh," I nodded without taking my eyes of the robes in front of me.

"Ginny…"

I turned my head. There was Hermione, standing with eggshell robes in front of her. The fabric seemed to glow with sparkles and there were flowers embroidered all over it in periwinkle blue that made me remember the Yule Ball.

"That's…" I shook my head. "There are no words to describe them."

"I found them yesterday when I walked through Diagon Alley to get a book after I'd left the Ministry." She smiled. "I knew they were perfect, but I wanted your opinion…"

"They _are_ perfect, Hermione," I answered as I hung the robes I'd been looking at back and walked over to her. The fabric was so soft!

"Can I help you?" An elderly witch walked over to us.

"I…er…" Hermione's voice faltered.

"She's getting married," I smiled.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" the witch beamed. "Now, I see you've already made your choice?"

"Yes," Hermione smiled.

I was amazed at how happy she looked. She was going to marry that git of a brother of mine and she was so happy! If only…no, I would _not_ think about Harry…

* * *

**A/N:** Once again, thank you for your reviews. Especially the ones that told me not to hide under the rock. So...how about to continue with the good work and hit the review button? 


	19. He's jealous, you know

**A/N:** Almost 200 reviews...wow...that's really cool, especially since a lot of you have very good suggestions or make me laugh about how you react to this story. Really, very cool. And I want to thank KD for betaing this once again.

Oh, right...the chapter...

* * *

He's jealous, you know

I was idly leafing through _Witch Weekly_ when my eyes fell upon a picture of Ron.

Dancing with someone that obviously wasn't Hermione if the lack of a big mass of brown curls was anything to go with.

_FAMILY APPROVES OF HARRY POTTER'S LOVE_

I groaned, but couldn't stop myself from reading the article…

_Last week, Auror Ron Weasley was seen to accompany Nina Tennfjord to the annual ball at the Danish Ministry of Magic, where he'd just finished working on a case. Miss Tennfjord attended the ball as a representative of her family, very rich and very famous in the Scandinavian wizarding population._

_Together, Harry Potter's best friend and Harry Potter's girlfriend showed the wizarding world that the rumours could be, in fact, more than just rumours. These rumours, that began to surface some time before Christmas, have never been confirmed, especially since Harry Potter had been dating Ron Weasley's younger sister and famous Harpies' Chaser Ginevra 'Ginny' Weasley._

I quickly scanned upwards to the beginning of the article to see who had written it. Lavender Brown…who'd have thought!

_The details of the break-up are still unknown, but most witches are betting that Ginny Weasley walked in on her boyfriend with Nina Tennfjord. Still, this isn't confirmed yet by anybody. When I asked Ron Weasley about it, he simply snorted, told me he was really happy I'd found a 'real job' and said I had to hurry before his fiancée would see us together. Or before a picture would have been made of the two of us, which probably would have the same effect._

I couldn't help letting a snort escape from my mouth.

"What's going on?" Tonks came limping towards me. She had been to her six-monthly Healer appointment and since we would meet up to discuss Hermione's hen party and Remus was off recovering from the full moon, I had volunteered to accompany her. Ever since I'd quit working for the twins, I had a lot more free time on my hands.

I looked up at her with a huge grin on my face. "Has anyone ever told you where 'Won-Won' came from?"

"Didn't it have something to do with that girl your brother used to date in his sixth year?" Tonks said as she sat down next to me.

"She writes for _Witch Weekly_ now." I still couldn't get that grin off my face. "She interviewed Ron at this Auror gathering." I showed her the article and pointed my finger to the line I'd been reading when she came out of the Healer's office.

"Blimey!" she laughed. "When did Ron grow up?" She continued to read out loud, "_So Hermione, before you get mad…Ron was behaving very properly. And, as our readers might know by now, I'm engaged too._" Tonks looked at me. "She's cool."

"Yes," I groaned, "I feel very guilty for hating her in fifth year…"

"_But the fact remains that Nina Tennfjord chose a very much betrothed escort to this party while the most eligible bachelors are waiting in line to be chosen by her._" Her voice started to lose all the laughter it had held before. "_This is a very good indication that, even though the rumours used to contain little truth, they now could very well be anything but rumours. So ladies, keep your eyes out…there might be a marriage coming up!_" Tonks clucked her tongue. "Well!" she finally said. "That's…er…interesting…" She turned to look at me. "You do know he isn't cheating on you, don't you? Never has either."

I nodded. "Yes…I know." Then, my head shot up towards her. "You're the first one that agrees with me!"

A smirk appeared on Tonks' face. "Saying that Harry cheats is like saying he can't Seek or didn't survive Voldemort or is a very accomplished Occlumens."

I couldn't help but giggle.

"So, now that we got you happy again…how about a stripper for Hermione's hen night?"

This caused me to laugh out loud and Tonks soon joined me. The welcomewitch shot us a furious look, but the only other patient in the room was a mother with her toddler and she was looking very amused. Almost as if she welcomed the distraction.

Even so, Tonks managed to calm down enough to say, "Maybe we should go to my place and really start discussing everything. Hermione would never dare come over there unless Remus asks her too. And he hasn't, believe me."

I understood what she meant when I entered the living room. "Bloody hell…I thought my place was bad!"

There wasn't a single spot free on the floor.

"Yeah…" she sighed. Then she got her wand out and levitated some of the piles off the table and onto a relatively clean spot on the floor. "I'll get Remus to clean it. He loves it."

I snorted, but sat down without saying anything. Tonks grinned and hopped over the piles to the kitchen only to return within seconds with a plate full of sandwiches. Without even coming close to falling.

"How is it that you can't even stand still for a few seconds without falling over, while you manage to find your way around _here_ without even so much as moving a spare bit of parchment?" I asked incredulously.

"It's all in the balance!" she smiled. And as if she wanted to prove her point, she twirled around on her good leg.

And fell down.

"Ah well," she grinned as she sat down next to me. "Who should we invite?"

"Fleur and Angelina of course, since they're family. Penelope too, I think. She isn't around very often, but she always gets on very well with Hermione. Besides, I think Hermione might like a bit of smart conversation with a Ravenclaw. I've never met Charlie's girl…they might not even be together anymore…and George isn't seeing anyone right now. Do you…do you think we should invite Nina Tennfjord?"

Tonks started to choke. "Why?" she finally managed to say.

"Well, of course I'm still not sure if she's dating Harry right now, but Ron knows her. He's bound to have introduced her to Hermione, don't you reckon?"

"I dunno," she said carefully, as if trying not to hurt me. "Even if they know each other, they're not exactly good friends, are they? I mean, I've never heard Hermione talk about her…except when she's angry about you and Harry breaking up."

I snorted.

"How about the girls from her dormitory?" Tonks changed the subject while looking at the list of all the names.

"Oh yes, Lavender Brown!" I said with a big smile.

"Really!" Tonks grinned.

"I thought they got along quite well until their sixth year. They've never been best friends, but they got along quite well. Besides, didn't she sent her an invitation to the wedding?"

"Do you reckon she forgave Lavender for going out with Ron?"

"She forgave Ron. And Lavender is engaged…I think we should invite both Lavender and Parvati."

"That makes it seven people with us. Do you know of anybody else at the Ministry she could be friends with?"

I shrugged. I wasn't really that integrated within the Ministry and especially with Hermione's colleagues. They were all Unspeakables and I was a Chaser. You know, Quidditch? Most popular sport in the wizarding world? The one every sodding newspaper and magazine writes about…especially with everything that's been going on with Harry and me. Not really something an Unspeakble would like to be associated with.

"Not really," I said finally.

"Yeah, let's stick to this list then." She looked up from it, grinning. "So no stripper, huh?"

I sniggered.

"But Hermione is boring when you look at what she likes! She loves books! Do you want to have a reading club?"

"Really, Tonks!" I grinned. "Have you spent too much time with male Aurors to realize that Hermione is a _girl_?"

* * *

The weather in January had started to improve greatly and February began wonderfully! Therefore, Quidditch practices became more of a rule than an exception. I started to suspect that Gwenog had been frustrated when she didn't make the National Team the moment she made us train more than necessary for the upcoming friendly match against the Moutohora Macaws. 

I invited Hermione and Tonks to come and watch and though Hermione immediately said 'yes', Tonks apologized for having to do some Auror things.

It was amazing. It was the first real match since Harry and I broke up and to be up in the air again, playing…

Julie had taken up Natalie's place with the Chasers, but Gwenog refused to fill both Rachel's and Tammy's spots. And since we still hadn't found a better reserve Seeker, sodding Robbins was placed on the team.

"Alright girls!" Gwenog shouted to us, just before we would go out to the pitch and into the air. "Clara…please try not to get distracted and catch the Snitch, okay?" She turned to the reserve that had taken Rachel's place this time. "Tamzin, you know you can do it. If you can block our passes, you can certainly block theirs!" Tamzin Sturm looked a bit pale, but otherwise perfectly normal. "Evy, Ginny, Julie…you know that new move we've practised?" We nodded. "Don't use it until I say so. Meredith, let's show them that girls can Beat, alright?"

Meredith simply grinned.

"Did you read the _Prophet_ this morning?" Robbins said from the corner of her mouth as we waited to fly onto the pitch.

I took a deep breath and ignored her. Unfortunately, she took this as some kind of answer and continued, "Your _boyfriend_," she spat the word out, "has been spotted in Ukraine with Nina Tennfjord."

As a matter of fact, I'd just heard Ron talking about that. Ron was helping the Ukrainian Aurors with a case and Harry had agreed to play a friendly match with the Cannons against the Yalta Ironbellies and meet up with Ron. The fact that Nina Tennfjord had been there too didn't even surprise me anymore.

"Yes," I therefore said, "He wanted to see my brother. You know, an Auror that has to spend missions abroad and happens to be Harry's best friend? He's getting married to their other best friend in little over a month."

"And where were you?" she smirked.

"We broke up," I said as neutrally as I could. "Where have you been the last two months? On the North Pole?"

She scowled. "Just because you were his girlfriend doesn't mean you can act as if you're better than us!"

Oh yes, because she isn't doing _that_ at all!

"I'll just introduce you, okay?" I finally said sarcastically.

"Really?" she beamed. "That would be wonderful!"

Thank Merlin the whistle sounded at that moment, because I really wouldn't have been able to control myself otherwise.

Julie caught the Quaffle immediately after the whistle and sped forwards to the Macaws goal hoops. Evy and I followed quickly, but Julie was so fast that she scored before anyone on the pitch had been able to do anything.

"Good work, Laroche!" Gwenog yelled as she zoomed past to club a Bludger to the other team. "Keep it up, but don't forget you're not the only Chaser."

Julie grinned and flew back into position as the Macaws Keeper threw the Quaffle to one of his own Chasers.

Soon the game was picking up. The Moutohora Macaws were a scarily good team when they got the chance. Their Seeker was very small, that was the only way to describe him. He looked as if he might be blown off from his broom every time Robbins breathed at him. But looks can be deceiving and that couldn't be more true for this bloke. The Snitch had made two appearances and it was only because of the intervention from Gwenog and Meredith that we were still playing instead of discussing how we lost (hem-Robbins-hem).

Tamzin threw me the Quaffle and I had barely caught it or I flipped around, ready to fly to the other side of the pitch. The first thing I saw were three blurs of red, yellow and blue. Behind and just a little bit below them, Julie was waiting patiently, while Evy was attentively zooming near their goal hoops. Julie caught my eye and mimed the move we'd practised. I immediately pointed the nose of my broom to the ground and started to fly down fast. Then, ten feet above the ground, I pulled up and sped to Julie, not really caring where the Macaws Chasers were. As I passed her, I tossed her the Quaffle and she flew towards Evy. I slowed down and saw the Macaws hurrying to catch up, but they were too late…Evy had scored.

"Time-out!" Gwenog yelled.

Obediently, we all flew down to the ground where Gwenog was waiting for us with an unreadable look on her face.

"Nice move," she said once we were all standing around her. "Was that the new one we've been practising?"

I cringed. Right, we weren't supposed to do that one. "I'm so…" I started, but Gwenog's face had broken into a smile.

"That was bloody brilliant! I knew you could do it!" By now she was actually beaming. Gwenog and beaming is a really scary combination.

"Robbins!" she continued in an authoritative voice. Now _that's_ the Gwenog we know and love! "What on earth are you doing up there?!?"

"The snitch isn't showing," Robbins shrugged.

"Isn't…ISN'T SHOWING???" Gwenog bellowed. "So those two times Meredith and I had to throw the Bludgers at him were just feints?"

Hah! Robbins was speechless! Behind Gwenog, Evy and Meredith weren't even trying to hide their smirks.

"You know what?" Gwenog glared. "Let's make a deal: the next time he's speeding forward, Meredith and I won't do anything. Since he'll probably be feinting again."

"That's not…" Robbins started to mutter.

"No, you're right, that's not everything," Gwenog nodded. "You're going after him. And you'll catch the Snitch."

Robbins didn't even dare to move.

"Is that understood?" Gwenog asked.

"Yes, Miss," Robbins said compliantly.

"Good. Chasers, good work. Tamzin, I know it's hard, but you're doing really well. Meredith, you know the drill…"

Meredith grinned and saluted Gwenog who smiled back. "Back in the air, then!"

We all mounted our brooms and shot up. Robbins kept glaring at me, but I couldn't pay attention to it right now…the Macaws Chasers immediately gained possession of the Quaffle and started to attack. It took all our and Tamzin's strength to hold them back and turn the attack around.

It didn't help much that the Snitch didn't show. Although that actually might be a good thing with how Robbins was doing. She became very paranoid and followed every move of the Macaws Seeker. He saw right through it and started to do all these terrible moves that she then followed. The only thing he didn't try to pull off was a Wronski Feint…but that might just have to do with the fact that he actually isn't able to pull off a Wronski Feint.

And then suddenly a red/yellow/blue blur passed me and the next moment there he was…with the Snitch in his outstretched hand.

"Bugger," was all I could think of to say.

"Yes, well," I heard Julie next to me. "Zhat was to bee expected."

Oh so true.

I really didn't want to be in Robbins' shoes right now. Well, not ever, actually…but this particular moment didn't seem all that pleasant to me.

"Robbins!" Gwenog yelled as she entered the locker rooms. She barged straight in to Robbins. "Care to explain what that was up there?"

Robbins stayed silent while the rest of the team settled themselves to watch the show.

"We had a deal, remember? You would _try_ to catch the Snitch. Now, did you do that?"

If you listened carefully, you could hear a very faint 'no'.

"Indeed, you didn't. You have to train harder, Clara. You got through tryouts…how could you have done that without any skill?"

Robbins shrugged.

"Oh…when Tammy gets back…I'll…you'll…I…argh!" She threw her broom to the ground and walked away to the shower area.

"Tough luck, girl," Evy finally said after ten minutes where the only sound you could hear was Gwenog showering with every now and then a curse word. Hey! Maybe I should introduce her to Wood someday!

"Oh don't bother!" Robbins spat back. "You all hate me anyway. You blame me for making your precious _Tammy_ leave and Red over there can't stand me because I made a pass on her boyfriend when they weren't even seeing each other!"

"Excuse me?" it sounded from three voices. Julie and Tamzin wisely kept their mouths shut.

"Do I have to remind you that you flew into a _goal hoop_ at try-outs?" Meredith said incredulously.

"And that you manage to keep bragging about how good you are when you can't even catch a Snitch before a Chaser?" Evy continued.

"When did you make a pass at Harry?" I asked, not really caring what the others had said. "That was when we played each other, right? After Harry and I had gotten together. You kept going on and on about how perfect you two wouldn't be for each other…again, Harry and I _were_ together then."

"Oh you just hate me because I'm good enough to take Romeijn's place!" Robbins put her arms before her chest.

"She's playing for the Dutch National Team!" I exclaimed. "You weren't even invited for the English team!"

"And that's why you're here, right?" Robbins glowered. "Because you made the English team."

"I never said I did!" I cried while throwing my arms up in the air.

"Because you're the _Little Red Wonder_," she continued sneeringly. "You're so perfect and everything. You'd probably be a better Seeker if you got the chance, wouldn't you?"

"She already did," Evy and Julie said together.

"She beat you, remember?" Meredith added.

At that moment, Gwenog came out of the shower. "Are you still here?" she snapped. "Go on! Go home! Take a shower! I'll see you at practice tomorrow."

We didn't move.

"Go! NOW!"

"Right…" Meredith muttered. And within seconds, we'd grabbed our stuff and jumped into the showers.

To avoid Robbins, I rushed into my robes and out of the locker rooms to Apparate home.

"Took you long enough!" I heard a very familiar voice say.

Surprised, I turned around and saw Dean standing there, grinning widely.

"Dean!" I said flabbergasted. "What are you doing here?"

"I had tickets and some spare time. Seamus is around somewhere, although I'm not sure where…probably making Lavender jealous by picking on some girls. Didn't I see Hermione somewhere?" Dean was smiling. "You know, you…played…marvellous! They were bloody idiots not to put you on the National Team."

"No, they were right," I shrugged. "We lost, didn't we?"

"But that wasn't your fault." He offered me his arm, which I took. "Where did you get that Seeker?"

"She flew into a goal hoop," I muttered.

"Really!" Dean laughed. "So, how've you been? I heard you finally got together with Harry and broke up with him. Stupid prat doesn't know what he's missing."

"Are you hitting on me?" I said suspiciously. That arm wasn't anything more than a simple friendly gesture, right?

"No!" he said, acting very shocked. "I'm taken. As in, not a bachelor and therefore not allowed to hit on you…why, are you interested?" He shot me his wickedest smile that always had me shaking when we used to date.

"Prat," I grinned as I slapped his arm.

"So…really," he continued smiling. "How've you been?"

* * *

"What's this?" 

I looked up just as Ron tossed the _Prophet _on my plate. I really should ask that key back from Hermione.

"The _Prophet_," I said as I picked it up and tried to save some of the eggs off them. "Why?"

"Not the paper," Ron sighed as he grabbed the paper out of my hands and sent the rest of the eggs flying through the kitchen.

"Hey!" I said indignantly. "You're cleaning that!"

"That!" Ron angrily pointed to a picture on the front page.

Accepting that my breakfast would be ruined, I turned my head to the picture on the paper. Oh bugger…

"I'd say that's a picture of Dean and me…but I dunno, the quality is a bit questionable."

"What are you doing, seeing Dean?" Ron looked appalled.

"So what?" I asked defiantly even though I knew it wasn't true.

"So what?" Ron repeated. "So _what_? Ever heard of Harry? My best friend? The love of your life?"

"He isn't here, is he?" I said stubbornly.

"He still can read the paper!"

For the following minutes we sat there, simply staring at each other.

"He's jealous, you know," Ron finally said softly as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Good," I nodded.

"Ginny…you know Harry. He's doing this for the right reasons. And he's not cheating on you."

"Why does everybody keep insisting that Harry is or is not cheating? I don't care! It's the not trusting part I'm mad about!"

Ron didn't answer, but grabbed a piece of toast from my plate and put it in his mouth. Then he looked at me, "But Dean?"

"Dean's a good bloke," I said, patting Ron's hand. "He really is. That's why he dropped by to say 'hi' when he came to see the match. That's just what he does!"

"Don't give up on Harry…" Ron was almost begging. "He needs time…_that's_ just how Harry is."

I smiled, picked up the plate and put it on the counter. Behind me, I heard Ron sigh again.

"I have to go to work," he said as he got up. Without saying anything else, he walked to the front door and opened it.

"Oy!" I yelled after him, just before he closed the door. He didn't turn around, but he didn't close the door either.

"Did you know Dean and Luna got together at Christmas?"

* * *

**A/N:** It's raining very hard right now...and in 30 minutes, I have to take my bike and cycle another 30 minutes to university...ah, you have to love the Netherlands...So...make me happy by reviewing?  



	20. Rhubarb

**A/N:** Right...so er...I'm sorry this took so long? And to those of you who I promised things would start to move on...er...I'm sorry once more, that will happen next chapter. Which is finished by the way, along with the one after that. So now I have plenty of time to write my poems for my surprise for _Sinterklaas_.

You didn't think I'd made that up, did you?

Anyway, enough ramblings and on with the story...

* * *

Rhubarb

In the weeks that followed, Hermione sent me back to the store with the dresses so often that the woman burst out laughing when I got there for the eleventh or twelfth time.

"How about we don't tell your friend anything and I keep them here 'for adjustments' until the wedding?" she winked.

"Is that possible?" I asked hopefully.

The woman took the robes for me and pulled out her appointment book to see when she could deliver them.

Absolutely grateful, I left the shop ten minutes later to find Hermione fussing about the flower arrangements.

"Oh Ginny, you're here," she said when she saw me. "Good. Blue or white? Oh, or green?" She picked up the different coloured bouquets from the table and held them out to me.

Er…right…a diplomatic answer is the best solution, I reckon… "What do you think?"

"Oh, I love the blue one. It would go very good with my dress. But the green ones are better for you and Tonks and the white one will go with everything. Maybe we should go with the white one, just to be safe…oh but I _love_ the blue!" She turned back to me. "Ginny! You're supposed to be helping _me_!"

"Compromise," I blurted. "You take the blue flowers, you give Tonks and me the green one and the decorations will be white with touches of blue and green."

"That's actually a good idea!" Hermione said slowly. "Now, the dinner arrangements. We can't possibly put the twins anywhere near my family, and…" I tuned her out…this was going to be a long day…

* * *

The problem with Gwenog was that she absolutely hated to lose. 

So when I got to practice after finally escaping Hermione, it didn't really surprise me that we were called for a meeting. Even coach Morris was there.

"We have to change some things," Gwenog said when we all had arrived. "Lynette, you're going to play Chaser…"

"What?!?" Evy and I yelled.

"Julie's fabulous!" I exclaimed. "You can't just kick her off the team!"

Gwenog smirked…oh oh, I didn't like that look at all… "That's right," she said. "And that's why you're going to play Seeker."

Oh bugger…

"Until Tammy returns," Gwenog continued, "you'll be taking her place."

"No!" I started to protest, but Gwenog was faster. "Robbins, you'll go back to being Ginny's first reserve."

Robbins looked as if she wanted to kill me.

"Any questions?" coach Morris grunted.

"I'm not playing Seeker!" I stated stubbornly.

"Yes, you are!" Gwenog could be as stubborn as me…maybe even more so. "I refuse to Captain a losing team. Now, I'm awfully sorry, but Robbins just isn't up to playing first string and until that time, she will stay a reserve and you will be playing. I know you chose to be a Chaser, but this is how it is. You're a ruddy good Chaser, but you're also a ruddy better Seeker than she is."

"Right," I muttered. No point arguing when she's like that. But the moment I got in the air, I made a mental note to write a huge letter to Tammy to quit the Dutch team and come back.

Even so…practice could've been worse. I mean, it took me a while before I got over the fact that I didn't have to chase the Quaffle, but simply could stay high up in the air until the Snitch would show it silvery wings. And Morris was impressed with what I did, so I must have done something right.

"Red!" Morris called me down at the end of practice. Obediently, I flew down towards him…always keep your coach on friendly terms.

"You're good," he continued simply. "You're no Romeijn or Potter…" Thank Merlin for the last! "…but with a bit of practice you could do well in matches."

"How many games are we playing until Tammy gets back?" I asked carefully.

"Not many, about ten," he said as he patted my shoulder. "Keep up the good work, I'll see you tomorrow." And he walked away.

Ten?!? _Only_ ten? The World Cup Finals were 6 months away! All the teams were missing people! What do you need ten matches for?!?

Without even bothering to shower or change clothes, I Apparated home. I opened the door and heard sounds coming from the kitchen. Hermione wasn't supposed to come over, was she?

My wand at the ready, I walked to the kitchen.

"Please tell me you've come back to take your place on the team," I said the moment I saw who it was.

Tammy grinned. "No, I have to play a match against England. Why?"

"Did you hear about our last match against the Macaws?" I sighed as I sat down at the table. Bugger, why does she need all those papers?

"Been busy," Tammy sat down at the table too. "I did get all these papers…" She waved her hand to the papers. "But I didn't really have time to read them."

"Ah well…Robbins played Seeker…"

"Gwenog hasn't found a replacement yet?"

"That's the next part. Robbins was so bad that Gwenog decided to rearrange the team. You know that Julie has taken Natalie's place?" Tammy nodded. "Well, today, Gwenog put Lynette in as Chaser too…"

Tammy burst out laughing. "Don't tell me," she hiccupped. "They made you Seeker?"

I nodded solemnly.

"Oh Ginny!" she couldn't stop laughing. "That's hilarious! Oh, I would have paid to see the look on Robbins' face when Gwenog announced it! Stupid cow."

Knowing that it would be impossible to get her to stop laughing, I started to look at the papers. Most of them were in a language I couldn't understand (probably Dutch) when one of those grabbed my attention…

"Is that Harry?" I said incredulously.

Still sniggering, Tammy took the paper from me and burst out in laughter again. "Dutch Muggle prime minister," she laughed.

"What?" I exclaimed. What? That was Harry!

"He's twice Harry's age, Ginny," Tammy giggled. "And has no clue as to what Harry's done for the wizarding world."

I looked at the picture again. All right, so maybe he was older than Harry…but the hair! And the glasses!

Tammy finally managed to get her laughter under control when she banished the papers to the bin. "You know what?" she said as she looked at me. "Come to the match. I've got some spare tickets…you can even invite Hermione over…it might take the stress out of the wedding."

* * *

Hermione agreed to come immediately. 

And that was why, about a week before the wedding, Hermione and I sat down in the stands.

"Merlin," I muttered, "it's been ages since I sat at this side of a Quidditch Pitch!"

"You'll have to explain everything to me," Hermione said. "Is this match part of the preliminary round?"

I looked at her, impressed. "Ron actually rubbed off on you."

Hermione smiled.

"Welcome, welcome to the last preliminary match!" the announcer started at that moment.

"The preliminaries end in March," I explained while the announcer entertained the public. "The actual World Cup starts in May with the eighth finals. The winners will play against each other in the quarter finals and so on until one winner remains after the finals."

"And what does this match decide?"

"Nothing," I shrugged. "England and the Netherlands both already have placed themselves for the eighth finals."

"Then why are they playing this match?" Hermione looked baffled.

Was she mental? "Er…because it's fun? The games are planned years in advance…you can't just cancel them!" I started grinning. "It's like cancelling the end of term tests."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled as well. "Oh look! They're coming!"

"…Deforest, Hodges, Cobley, Parish, Norwood aaaand Potter!" the announcer sounded through the stadium. "And for the Netherlands, Koorens, Brandt, Smid, van den Heuvel, de Graaff, de Groot aaaaand Romeijn! As most of our public well may know, both Seekers are more than familiar with each other. Tamar…" I sniggered at how wrong he was pronouncing it. "…Romeijn is the star Seeker of our own Holyhead Harpies when the boy who lived…" Hermione and I both snorted. "…has helped the Cannons win their first League in over a century. Both teams have shown amazing skill during the previous matches and have rightfully earned their place in the eighth finals. And there's the referee! The Snitch is out and he takes his whistle…ladies and gentlemen, the last preliminary match for the 423rd Quidditch World Cup has begun!"

The Quaffle sped back and forth, faster than I'd ever seen. The Chasers really knew how to play together and within fifteen minutes, both teams had scored six times.

"It's fast!" Hermione exclaimed. Just like me, she was sitting on the edge of her seat, watching their every move. "Look! Tammy is speeding up!"

And indeed she was.

"Look at Romeijn go! Dare I say she's seen the Snitch? Yes! Harry Potter is following her and has caught up with her as we watch this amazing chase. But the Snitch is fast. It doesn't want to be caught…what will the Seekers do? And look at that! Harry Potter is diving! If I didn't know better, I'd say he was trying to pull off a Wronski Feint…but no…look at that! The game's over! Harry Potter has caught the Snitch in one of the fastest matches ever played in the world. And look at this excellent example of sportsmanship…Romeijn flies up to Harry Potter and congratulates him on his catch. More people should…"

"Come," I said to Hermione as I grabbed her hand. "Let's go downstairs before everyone else and try to find Tammy."

Hermione looked as if she was about to protest, but followed me anyway. It took us almost as long as the match had taken to get down again and to the locker rooms.

"ID please," a guardwizard asked us as we wanted to enter the rooms.

"I'm Ginevra Weasley," I said as haughtily as I could. "I'm Tammy's teammate." I know these guardwizards…as long as you look as if you belong there, they'll do anything for you.

"ID, please."

Or not…different approach then, "Do you even read the _Prophet_?" I asked incredulously. "I'm a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. I was Harry Potter's girlfriend! So I demand to be let through, together with her, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best friend."

"Sorry," the guardwizard shrugged, not really caring. "You could have taken Polyjuice potion."

"Give me a broom and a Quaffle and I'll show you we haven't taken Polyjuice." I started to become angry.

"No need," I heard Tammy's voice from behind the guardwizard. "It's okay, I'll vouch for them."

"Vouch?" I mouthed at Tammy as we walked past the guardwizard. She grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Did you like the match?" Tammy asked.

"It was really fast," Hermione said with…was that…_awe_ in her voice? "I didn't even see you lose! One moment you were closest to the Snitch, next Harry had it in his hand."

Tammy grinned. "We were told not to _exert_ ourselves."

"And you probably would have lost from Harry anyway," I snorted. Tammy grinned even more.

"Ginny," Hermione suddenly said. "We have to go."

"What? Why?" I was perplexed. Where did that come from?

"Wedding stuff?" she said.

"The wedding is over a week away! We've done everything!"

"Ginny, come on, we have to go." She grabbed my arm to Disapparate and as she did that, I turned around. There was Harry, walking towards us with a determined look on his face…

"Hermione!" I exclaimed as we reappeared at my apartment.

"Oh come on, you two always row since you broke up!"

"Excuse me! We don't!"

"Because Ron and I try our very best to keep you two apart."

So _that_'s why I haven't seen Harry all this time!

"Hermione…"

"The wedding is in a week," she begged. "Please don't kill each other."

Someone knocked on the door.

"You'll have a perfect wedding, Hermione," I said as I walked towards it and opened it. "Tonks!"

"Wotcher!" she grinned. "Oh, weren't you supposed to be at home?"

"Hermione, rhubarb," I ordered.

"What!" she spat, looking at me as if I'd gone mental.

"Put your fingers in your ears and say rhubarb over and over again," I explained quickly as I turned back to Tonks. It was one of those things we used to do when we were little. It worked wonders, especially when someone's birthday was coming up. I remember my first time…my fourth birthday was coming up and it was the first one for which my brothers were actually planning something. So we were in the garden, trying to de-gnome it…well, I was playing with the gnomes and my brothers took them away from me to start throwing them over the hedge. And suddenly, Bill said, "Oy little one! Rhubarb, will you?"

Now, you have to understand that I had seen my brothers do this millions of times. I mean, there are six of them; I was bound to have picked up on it. I even often tried to get them to rhubarb for me, but most of the time they would just laugh and ruffle up my hair. Yes, even Ron, being the five-year-old he was.

So I lay there in the grass, looking at my brothers with my mouth wide open. Unfortunately for me, one of the smarter gnomes saw it's opportunity and bit the finger that I still had sticking out to play with them. Believe me, I still have the scar.

"Bugger!" I exclaimed. Oh yes, my vocabulary was quite…_extraordinary_…for my age.

"Can you rhubarb?" Charlie repeated Bill's question. All my brothers were looking at me expectantly. So I stuck my fingers in my ears and started to rhubarb.

Back in the present, Hermione still refused to do it. "Why?" she asked stubbornly.

"Because Ginny and I have to discuss one of your gifts," Tonks saved me.

I nodded fervently to show that she was telling the truth.

"Er…alright then…" Hermione still hesitated, but started to chant anyway.

"Wasn't the party supposed to be here?" Tonks asked the moment we heard the first 'rhubarb'.

"Can you contact everyone so we can give the party at her place? Or is Ron going to be there?" I asked.

"Mad-Eye gave him extra work so he would stay in late," Tonks grinned. "Harry will pick him up with the twins to grab something to drink…you know, with him being back in England for the first time since forever. I told Ron I would let Herm…"

"I feel ridiculous," Hermione interrupted us.

"That's normal," I said with a straight face. "It will wear off eventually, just continue what you were doing…we're nearly finished." I turned back to Tonks and continued when Hermione had restarted, "Can you contact everyone? I'll get Hermione there tonight."

"Will do!" Tonks grinned. She walked towards Hermione, tapped her on her shoulder and mimed her to stop. "Ron will be working late," she said once Hermione had stopped her mumblings. "He asked me to tell you."

"Stay over for dinner," I said impulsively. "Tammy probably won't be home anyway tonight."

Obviously confused as to what was going on, Hermione finally said, "Er…alright…"

"Perfect!" Tonks walked back to the door. "Well, gotta go! You know, things to do, people to see…" And with that, she was gone.

"Rhubarb?" Hermione finally asked.

* * *

I managed to get Hermione to take us to her place after 'finding out' I didn't have anything edible in the apartment. 

Well, that and the fact that I promised to clean any mess I would make and do the dishes. And while I might not be the most perfect witch to choose when you want someone to clean your house; you can't live for eighteen years with my mum without picking up some things.

So I agreed to her terms (we wouldn't even be eating much there, so the cleaning shouldn't be that horrible) and here we were, at the front door with Hermione opening it.

"Honestly, Ginny," Hermione shook her head as she flicked her wand to turn on the lights. "How can you live in a house without…"

"SURPRISE!!!"

Out of every corner of the room, people had suddenly appeared…Tonks standing right in front of us.

"I broke a vase…" she said sheepishly, then adding quickly (as Hermione was starting to pale visibly), "But Penelope repaired it, so that's fixed. Welcome to your hen night!"

Hermione groaned, "I told you I didn't want one!" she exclaimed.

"Nonsense," Fleur said determinedly. "I didn't have one and regretted it ever since. Tonks and Ginny did zhe right zhing."

Hermione looked around and started to beam when she saw Parvati and Lavender. Thank Merlin! I'd started to grow more worried ever since we'd sent the invitations to them. What if Hermione refused to be in the same room as Lavender?

But the moment the three women hugged each other, I caught Tonks' eye. I gladly returned the grin she gave me.

"So…what have you planned to do?" Hermione had accepted the fact that we were going to force her to have fun if she didn't decide to cooperate. She took the easier option.

"Fleur, Angelina and Parvati have made a quick dinner after which we will go to a tour of the best Muggle clubs, guided by Lavender, Penelope and me," Tonks grinned. "And you really don't want to miss that," she added quickly when she noticed that Hermione was opening her mouth to retort. "It's going to be dead amusing…" She looked at me with a mischievous smile on her face.

Why am I always being dragged into these things? "Seeing as Ginny's the only _single_ one of us…" No… "We're going to find her a bloke."

The moment I saw the looks on their faces, I knew it would be bloody useless to protest. So I decided to take the 'Hermione' approach out of things and smile.

* * *

It didn't really take them much time to find someone. We'd had our fair share of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey before going out and the alcohol made it's presence known the moment Angelina and Tonks walked towards a group of men and pointed me out to them. 

Five minutes later I found myself (and I'm ashamed to say…giggling madly at the amount of attention I got) in the company of five men. All of them very keen on getting me home with them. All of them very handsome and successful. All of them…well…_none_ of them Harry…

Bugger!

_I_ was the one who broke it off! _I_ was the one who was being lied to! So why couldn't _I_ simply forget everything and go on with my life?

* * *

**A/N:** I really am not kidding...the Dutch prime minister looks like Harry Potter in the first film...just look him up in Google (Jan-Peter Balkenende). 

Oh, and many thanks to KD who betaed this really fast.


	21. Nina Tennfjord

**A/N:** Alright, this is really fast, so don't expect the next one to be updated as quick as this one. It's just that you have been waiting for so long for this!

Many thanks to KD for betaing! Really.

And here we are...

* * *

Nina Tennfjord

"Oh bugger all!" I heard Tonks exclaim as I set foot in the room. She actually looked normal for once. She had her own appearance and it suddenly was so obvious that she was Sirius' cousin once removed.

"It's nice to be Hermione's closest female friends, isn't it?" I smirked while waving my wand at the vase Tonks had managed to drop with her cane. She was wearing very nice and very un-Tonks-like robes that matched mine.

"Yeah…" Tonks was picking at the front of her robes. "Ruddy robes. It's bad enough I used to be unable to set one foot in a room without stumbling over or making something crash, let alone having to depend on a cane, which, let's be honest, makes everything worse…but she makes me wear _dress robes_!"

"Ginny!" I heard the woman that was very fast degrading from her position as my best friend exclaim hysterically behind me. "We have to check the food every minute. Lord knows what the twins are going to do with it!"

"I'll check," I tried to calm her. Her mum gave me a look that clearly said that I was trying to fight a long lost battle here and even Tonks snorted.

"The flowers…" Hermione continued as if I'd said nothing, "They'll need a second look before we start. Oh, and a third!"

"I'll take care of everything," I nodded.

"And first and foremost…" Hermione took my hand very seriously in hers, "Don't let Ron and me see each other until it starts."

Oh yes…Muggle superstition! I reckon it's bloody nonsense to not see each other on your wedding day, but it couldn't really harm anybody to keep Hermione from my brother. Merlin knows what those two would do when they saw each other! Especially with Hermione being the nervous wreck she was…

"Hermione, dear," her mother took her by her shoulders, "Let's put the finishing touches on your appearance, all right?" She turned to me. "Would you be a dear and help us?"

"I'll check if the twins are keeping their promise to act Muggle-like," Tonks said while a grin threatened to break free on her face. Thankfully she turned away before Hermione had a chance to see it.

"The seating arrangements!" Hermione yelled after her as she was being dragged away by her mother to the antechamber where Harry was sitting.

"Ginny, you stay here and make sure Ron and I don't see each other," Hermione said immediately. "Just keep Harry company, okay?"

I looked at her as if she'd gone mental. Was this the same woman that had tried to keep us apart a week ago?

"Oh come on, Ginny!" she snapped, "You're a grown woman for God's sake!"

"Thanks Hermione…" I rolled my eyes. Seriously, how can she be keeping Harry and me apart from each other one day, only to put the two of us in the same room the next?

From the corner of my eye, I saw Harry gesture 'What did I do?' to Hermione. She simply shook her head exasperatedly and entered her room with her mother.

* * *

After an hour, Harry and I were both still waiting in chairs next to each other. Why did Hermione ask _me_ to be her Maid of Honour again? 

Ron was throwing up in the loo next to Harry and Hermione could be heard in the room next to me, talking loudly and hysterically with her mum about everything that would surely go wrong.

"…and I _never_ should have invited the twins!" Hermione shouted at that moment.

I grimaced, at least she was right about one thing…I mean, I love my brothers, but tact has never been their forte.

Next to me, Harry chuckled. Even after an hour of sitting together, we still weren't talking to each other and probably wouldn't start soon…

"You're bloody impossible, Mum!" Hermione bellowed and the door opened. I winced; for Hermione to swear meant that something was very wrong indeed. But then again, according to Hermione, everything was bound to end terribly the moment she started to plan this wedding.

I looked at her.

"And you!" she continued to scream, pointing at both Harry and me. "You two should stop ignoring each other." Excuse me?!? Ignoring Harry had been _her_ idea! _She_ had been the one to keep us apart! But Hermione still didn't seem to have become skilled at Legilimency as she simply ignored me and continued, "It's bad enough that Fred and George don't want to follow the guidelines…" Ah, _that_'s where she went wrong! If you want to keep the twins in line you have to set them rules, not guidelines. Ron definitely should know that by now. "…I set them so that this wedding at least would _seem_ like a Muggle one! You two are the best man and Maid of Honour! You_ can't_ ignore each other, that's bloody impossible!" Hermione is absolutely daunting when she swears! "You two get your act back together or I _will_ kill you!"

"And have your wedding without a best man and Maid of Honour?" I asked before I could help myself. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Harry was trying very hard to keep himself from bursting out laughing.

Hermione was obviously seething. "I don't care! I will _not_ let you ruin my wedding day because you are not talking to each other!" And with that, she turned around and walked away. Her mother caught my eye and with an apologetic smile, she followed Hermione.

It would probably be best for me not to follow them.

Unfortunately, that meant I had to stay next to Harry and whatever threat Hermione might pose, _I_ would _not_ start talking.

And so we sat there, not talking. Occasionally, Ron's head would poke around the door to disappear again very soon and with every passing minute the wedding came closer. Bugger! I would have to dance with Harry! We couldn't just…

"When I got out of the final battle," Harry suddenly started to speak, "I was exhausted. We went to St Mungo's and I decided then and there that I couldn't do this anymore. I'd fought for my life ever since I became part of this world and what did I get in return? My parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Gabrielle, Kingsley, Dawlish and many more were dead. Tonks was severely injured. Percy had nearly died spying for the Order… Of course, I'd just killed Voldemort and saved the wizarding world from a life of terror…but what about me?" He paused as if to decide what to tell me next. "I decided to become a Seeker. Angelina'd told me that Wood had signed for the Cannons and Ron encouraged me to actually try out. I never thought I would make it, that I would be good enough for professional Quidditch…but as Wood put it, it wasn't difficult to be better than the others that had turned up for tryouts." I rolled my eyes; they were the _Cannons_ for crying out loud! "And then, one day in November, Mad-Eye and Tonks came to find me. They had some trouble with some Dark Arts close to where I was practising Quidditch.

The team of Aurors they'd put on the case didn't seem to be able to make even the littlest bit of progress. They all but begged me to help them. With my experience, they said, it wouldn't take longer than a week or two." Another rolling of my eyes. "I didn't regret not being an Auror, but I was curious and wanted to know what it would be like, so I said 'yes'. After all, they had done so much during the war…the least I could do, was help them."

"Oh yes," I broke my resolution not to talk before I could stop myself, "because you didn't do _anything_ during the war!"

He smiled at me as if I had just proved his point and continued, "I loved it in the beginning. The excitement, the anxiety, the planning…Tonks had helped me disguise myself so the other Aurors wouldn't recognize me. I had openly refused to become an Auror and we didn't want to attract any more attention to me, so I would operate under a secret identity. It was everything I had expected it to be." Suddenly, the look in his eyes got darker. "But then it got harder. Two Aurors got severely injured and another one disappeared for a few days. We only found her the moment we captured the group that worshipped the Dark Arts…she was severely injured and dehydrated. When I got home that evening, Luna was waiting for me to break up with me. I didn't even finish our conversation, but disappeared to Ron and Hermione's party." He took a deep breath. "With every step that I took, every turn that I made, I saw visions of people I had hurt, people that could get hurt because of me. You, Cedric, Sirius…I just…I couldn't stay around anymore and pretend to be happy, so I left the party very soon and retreated to the Burrow because I knew nobody would be there. If I went to my place, Luna might show up and I really didn't want to see her right then. And Grimmauld Place…" He laughed a hollow laugh. "I was happily brooding until you came crashing in and started to lecture me about being a sodding prat. It wasn't until after you left to make that tea that I realized how right you were. I _wasn't_ the only person who made decisions and I couldn't take all responsibility for everything that went wrong in the world."

"Too right you can't," I muttered darkly.

He grinned. "It was the first conversation that made me actually realize you weren't Ron's little sister anymore. You hadn't been for a long time, but for some reason I'd never taken the time to realize it. Still, life went on and I focused on Quidditch more than anything else. On a visit at Remus and Tonks', she asked me if they could call on me if they ever needed me again and I agreed, as long as it wouldn't interfere with Quidditch. Together with Mad-Eye and Ron, we decided that it would be safer for me to operate abroad. Less chance of being recognized, you see."

I had turned around in understanding. He was a bloody, buggering Auror! "You're an Auror!" I exclaimed.

"Part-time Auror…" he corrected me sheepishly.

"Harry…"

"It's OK. As I already told you, I actually like it. I've always wanted to become an Auror…don't you…don't you _ever_ wonder what it would be like to be a Healer?"

I nodded, "Yes, I do. But I know that I could never be a full-time Healer…I mean, I could never give up flying…" I looked up at him and saw a look in his eyes that I had never seen there before. And in that moment I knew we understood each other perfectly.

"I'm sorry, Gin, I should have told you."

"No, you shouldn't have. You were following orders, I understand."

He grabbed my hand. "If my girlfriend doesn't deserve to know then who does?"

I smiled a little sadly. "I'm not actually your girlfriend anymore."

"Yes. Well, don't hate me, but I absolutely take full responsibility for that."

I actually didn't know how to answer that, so I decided to change the conversation back to him being a part-time Auror…the Ministry probably made that up just so they could engage him. "Do you…how…" I faltered, not really knowing how I could ask him what I wanted to ask.

"When the League ended, Ron…actually, do you remember when Ron was being a prat about you losing?"

I nodded, how could I not remember?

"When Tonks came to get me because Ron wanted to talk to me, he actually had a proposition for me. Whether or not I would make it into the National Team, I would have more opportunities to go abroad, either with the team or because I wouldn't practice that much anymore. They appointed me to this case that was being worked on by both British and French Aurors. Ron was working on it here and they were meeting a dead end. We…I was giving a whole new appearance by Tonks and Mad-Eye got me a new identity. During the day I was 'Harry Potter, Quidditch Extraordinaire', but during the night I was…"

"…an Auror…" I muttered and he nodded.

"And I didn't really find Snuffles after practice," he grinned. "But you already knew that. He helped us when we were in Spain, but got hit with a curse. They were going to kill him when I got there. Beutel's girlfriend is a veterinarian and she patched him up just fine."

"And the…" Again, I didn't have to finish my sentence, since Harry seemed to be able to read my mind…wait…

"I had to…" he started, but I interrupted him immediately.

"You're not using Legilimency to see into my thoughts, are you?" I said apprehensively. What if he saw that I still…er…I mean…

"No!" he laughed. "Merlin, no! I'm rubbish at both Legilimency and Occlumency…Snape at least was right about that."

"Good," I nodded firmly.

He smiled and continued softly, "It was Tonks. She disguised herself so I could report back to her several times a week. Most of the time we had dinner…"

That explained a lot. Like how Tonks seemed to know Harry wasn't cheating on me. But it didn't explain Nina Tennfjord… "But…that Tennfjord witch! Where does she fit into the picture?"

Harry looked at me as if I'd gone mental. "Nina Tennfjord…Nymphadora Tonks…" he finally said.

Oh…

"The Tennfjords were very good to us during the war," he smiled. "They gave us the opportunity to infiltrate into the pureblood community since the Tennfjord family kept a neutral appearance to the public. Tonks has been Nina Tennfjord for a very long time."

"Why didn't anyone tell me stuff like this during the war?" I exclaimed.

"Gin…" Harry started.

"Right…classified Auror information, I get it." More out of habit than anything I checked my watch that now read 'About to be late for the wedding'…

"Oh bugger…if we don't get downstairs with Ron in ten minutes, Hermione will most definitely kill us. Believe me, I know."

I hadn't even finished my sentence or Harry stood in front of the door to the loo, knocking on it loudly. "Come out, mate," he said. "Your wedding is starting and we wouldn't want it to be without you."

The door opened slowly to reveal a green looking Ron.

"Wha-?" he muttered.

"Hermione is waiting for you," Harry smiled encouragingly.

"She's changed her mind, hasn't she?" Ron said.

"Of course not," Harry answered.

"She's smart, of course she has."

"She will if you don't hurry up and get downstairs and to the aisle," I berated him as I went to stand in between him and Harry. "You know that deal we made about not minding each others business?"

Ron nodded hesitantly.

"I take it back. Right now, I'm meddling with your life and right now, that will be by pulling you…" I grabbed his ear. "…downstairs."

"Ginny, that hurts!" he exclaimed.

I released his ear. "If you love Hermione, as we both know you do, you will trust her to make the right decision."

Ron was quiet for so long that Harry grabbed his arm and started to say something, "You know as well…"

"Thanks Gin," Ron interrupted him smiling.

"Anytime," I smiled back, ignoring the fact that he'd just called me 'Gin'. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and meet the bride to tell her you haven't changed your mind yet."

"Tell her I love her," Ron called after me as I started down the stairs.

* * *

As I walked down the aisle in front of Hermione and saw the look on Ron's face, I remembered something about when we were little. You see, when growing up, Bill and Charlie were away most of the year at Hogwarts. Percy always was to be found with his nose in his books and Fred and George were always together, trying to pull off pranks. So Ron and I just kind of got left together to entertain each other. Of course, I was the girl and therefore wasn't really allowed to play Quidditch, but we lived on the country and sometimes Ron and I would sneak out to play a game outside or go swimming in the pond…although I wasn't really allowed to do that too after getting illegal swimming lessons from Charlie at the age of two. 

Sometimes we would be obedient and stay inside to play games. Most of the time, this occurred when Mum had just finished baking cookies and we…well, I, since I somehow always managed to get away with more…begged for some to play 'house'. I remember one particularly well…Mum had just read me a story about this Boy Who Lived. He was a hero and had managed to do so much even though he'd been smaller than I was. So, the day that followed that wonderful story happened to be very stormy. Mum had baked her cookies and Ron and I were sitting at the kitchen table with our mugs of tea and plate of cookies. It was my turn to come up with the characters and after thinking very long about it, I decided I would be the famous Quidditch Chaser Ginevra Weasley and Ron could be Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

Ron didn't agree with my choice of characters. 'I don't want to be the stupid boy who lived,' he told me. 'Why can't we be Mum and Dad? Harry Potter doesn't even exist!' Now, I couldn't let my hero be insulted like that, 'Harry Potter does essist and I will marry him,' I answered him hotly. I was five and not very good with the letter 's'.

But that isn't really the point. You see, many people that got to know him at Hogwarts; got to know him as a boy that wanted to be special. He wanted to excel at something, but being the youngest of six brothers doesn't make that really easy. The problem was that they got him all wrong. I was the one that wanted to excel at something. I've always been the little girl and wanted to prove that I could be more. Ron just wanted a normal and easy life…he always wanted to be 'Mum' and 'Dad' instead of someone famous.

The first few years at school he kind of forgot me. We used to be very close, but the moment Harry and Hermione came in the picture, I would be out of it. At first I was jealous of it. How dare he let another girl take my place. She knew him only a year while I had known him my whole life! I can prove it; I have many scars from our games…

My opinion of Hermione changed the moment I met her in my second year. She was something to be reckoned with and she understood Ron even though she didn't really realize it right then. I didn't really either; it took me another year and a Yule ball to see the obvious…unfortunately, it took them another year and a _Won-Won _to realize what all of us had seen all along.

He finally found the 'Mum' to his 'Dad'.

Of course, Ron and Hermione fight a lot more than Mum and Dad, but Mum is the one always fussing around and trying to get everything right, just like Hermione. And I know none of us have ever told Ron, but we all think he's a lot like Dad. He can be very enthusiastic about something stupid without anyone agreeing with him (Cannons anyone?) but when it comes to it, you know you can count on him.

And they absolutely make each other happy.

At that moment, I caught Harry's eye and he winked. Knowing that I wouldn't survive this day if I started giggling, I stifled my laugh immediately. I would just have to make sure that I didn't look Harry right in his eyes during the ceremony, wouldn't I?

"Dearly beloved," the priest started to say and as I looked at Ron and Hermione, I knew that nothing would get in the way of those two getting happily married.

* * *

"You _will_ dance with Harry!" 

This was coming from the person that had dragged me away from a Quidditch match a mere week before this wedding when there was a slight possibility that Harry and I would see each other. So I told her so.

"You can go back to hating him after the wedding," she muttered from the corner of her mouth. We were posing for the photos and in a few moments the ball would begin. "Right now, people expect you to behave and dance together."

"Give it a rest, Hermione," Ron's calm voice came from her other side. Hermione's cheeks immediately turned red, but at least she shut up for the time it took to make the picture.

And as the following pictures would be made with the married couple only, I quickly escaped to the dance room.

"Not so fast!" Harry's still familiar voice stopped me at the entrance of the room. "I believe we have to dance."

"Do we?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you hear Hermione?" he grinned.

"Well…" I said, trying to escape from his arms. "Shouldn't she be here then?"

"She'll be here in a minute…let's dance."

"You can't even dance."

"You'll dance and I'll try not to step on your toes."

"One dance."

And indeed, after one dance, he kissed my hand and walked away…for some reason, grinning widely.

"I see you two patched things up," Tonks said as I sat down next to her.

"Yeah…" I nodded, "So…Nina Tennfjord, eh?"

Tonks grimaced. "Sorry for that, but it really wasn't my place to tell you."

I smiled. "At least it explains why you and Ron were the only two that kept assuring me that Harry wasn't cheating on me."

Tonks grinned.

"Hello ladies." Remus came walking towards us with three Butterbeers in his hands. How Hermione managed to explain that to her Muggle relatives, I don't know, but I was really grateful for it.

"Hi Remus!" I grinned happily as I took one of the bottles from him. "How's the full moon been?"

He smiled tiredly. "I have known better times…but this party more than makes up for it. So tell me, was it just my mind playing tricks on me or were you dancing with Harry?"

My face broke into an even bigger grin.

* * *

**A/N:** (really big grin on my face from reading this) Happy now? 


	22. Harry James Potter!

**A/N:** Wow. 300 reviews...and I was happy when we hit 100!

A big 'thank you' should be in order...both to all of you (some of you might recognize some things in this chapter from reviews/conversations we had) and KD, who was kind enough to re-Beta this after I'd added all kinds of stuff when she already had given it back to me, betaed and everything.

Anyway, you probably want to read this...

* * *

HARRY JAMES POTTER!

The following morning saw me waking up with the biggest hangover known to wizardkind.

So I let myself fall out of bed, crawled to the door, managed to open it, stumbled across the hallway and opened the door to the bathroom to take a nice, long and hot shower. Well, I _would_ have done that, if the door hadn't been locked.

"Bugger Tammy!" I groaned as I banged the door. "You're not even supposed to be here! And if you were, you could at least have shown up at the wedding! You _were_ invited!"

No answer.

I banged a little louder and tried the doorknob one more time. Come to think of it, I didn't hear any water running…so I prepared myself for the light and slowly opened my eyes…

What the…?

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!!!"

Above my head there was a dull 'thunk' that sounded as if someone had just fallen out of his bed.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" I bellowed again, "Get down here immediately!"

"Coming, coming," I heard someone that sounded an awful lot like Harry mutter as someone started to come down the stairs. "Merlin, Gin, don't get your knickers in a twist…" He turned around the corner and into my view. "What?"

"This is Grimmauld Place," I said, my arms crossed in front of my chest.

"Last time I checked, it was, yes." Harry looked confused.

"Last time _I_ checked," I said angrily. "_I_'m not supposed to wake up here!"

Harry cringed. "Don't yell…please…look, let's get downstairs to grab some tea and breakfast." And before I could protest, he'd grabbed my arm and was pulling me downstairs.

To be honest, I could use some normal food.

So he sat me down on a chair and started to prepare breakfast very fast. Finally, he levitated two plates with eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, kippers and some baked tomatoes along with two cups of tea onto the table and sat down.

"You were dead tired and well…a bit drunk too," he said as he scooped up a bit of eggs with a piece of toast and put it in his mouth. "You fell asleep on a chair. So I promised your mum I would get you home safely, but well…that was a bit harder than I'd thought given the fact that you've changed the wards on your apartment since we broke up. I couldn't leave you out on the streets, so I took you here. There's plenty of space."

Ignoring the fact that I didn't really believe him, I said, "Is it possible that I remember the twins replacing the Muggle fireworks with some of their own?"

A grin broke free on Harry's face. Bugger, I'd missed that!

"Yes. Hermione was furious. Or perhaps she was furious with you for letting them get away with it."

"She set _guidelines for them_!" I interrupted him indignantly.

Harry snorted. "Yes, one of the more stupid moves on her part. Not that you were very bothered with it…you'd had a few too many Butterbeers."

I still didn't want to believe him, but the problem was that I'd woken up that morning with a terrible hangover.

"All right…" I said slowly. "Let's say it's true…"

"It is true," Harry interrupted me as he started on his kippers.

"Why didn't you drop me off at the Burrow?" I demanded, losing the last bit of restraint I had…which wasn't much, considering the fact that I'd had very little sleep and was trying to nurse a terrible hangover now.

"We were the last to leave…you know… it's got something to do with being the best man and Maid of Honour of the couple."

I sighed and looked at my plate. "The firework was great though, wasn't it?"

"It was Fred and George's," Harry said simply.

"Yeah…" I realized I actually was very, very hungry and that any other questioning could very well wait until I'd eaten everything.

We sat in silence for the following minutes until Harry finished and shoved his plate to the side. "They never gave me orders to keep everything a secret."

"What?" I asked, not really understanding what he was talking about.

"Mad-Eye, Tonks, Ron…they never told me I couldn't tell you what I was doing when I wasn't playing Quidditch."

I'd instantly lost my appetite. "You really didn't trust me," I stated. I felt like someone had stabbed me. So he _still_ didn't trust me then. He _still_ felt like he had to hide things from me.

All this time, somewhere deep inside me I kept thinking that there had to be a logical explanation for everything. That even though I thought he didn't trust me, it all had been my mistake and I should have been the one asking for forgiveness.

But…he _actually_ didn't trust me!

"No!" he said immediately. "Ginny, no. I was scared. I was out there, doing Auror work and I was scared you'd get hurt. I couldn't tell you…not when all this evil was still around, waiting for an opportunity to get to me by hurting you. I couldn't let you get hurt…"

And we were back to that.

"Alright," I said stubbornly.

"You have to understand," he pleaded. "I care…what?"

"I understand," I nodded, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "And I'll try to be honest too, just…promise you won't hate me for what I'm about to do…"

"Promise…what?"

"Harry, promise."

He nodded, "Alright."

"We can't keep seeing each other…" I stated simply. "We can be friends, but nothing more…"

"You just forgave me!" he exclaimed, not understanding one bit of what I was saying. "Why can't we go back to where we left?"

I snorted. "Because you get hurt when I'm around."

He looked at me disbelievingly.

"First year, the diary?" I explained as if I was talking to a five-year-old. Seriously, two can play _that_ game! "Voldemort used _me_ to lure you down there so he could finish you off once and for all. And it's my fault Sirius died. I was the one in fourth year who insisted on going with you to the Ministry. If Neville, Luna and I hadn't been there, you could have gotten away before Sirius got hurt. He would still be alive now. And…"

"Ginny, that's Dragon dung and you know it!" Harry exclaimed.

I simply looked at him, my arms still in front of my chest.

His eyes widened suddenly and he got the most amazing determined look on his face as he leaped over the table and kissed me. Hard.

"How do you _do_ that?" he murmured when he finally let go of me.

"Well, you see," I said matter-of-factly. "You tilt your head like this…"

He laughed. "No, how do you make me fall in love with you and manage to make it look so simple?"

For a moment, I was taken aback. So he still did love me! But then I realized what it meant…

"Because it is," I shrugged simply. "When two people love each other they try to make it work. No matter how many evil wizards try to do them in."

"So you didn't give up on me?" he asked. He was looking very vulnerable right now, as if he wanted to make sure I meant what I said.

"I gave up on you a long time ago," I smiled. "Didn't really work, did it?"

He smirked. "Ah yes, your Quidditch career."

I rolled my eyes and for a few moments we just sat there in silence (his hand covering mine affectionately, though) until Harry continued, "So you and Dean…"

"Luna," I answered simply.

"Right, should have known Ron wouldn't lie about that."

"I still can't believe Mum let you take me here for the night."

"She didn't. We were the last to leave, remember. She doesn't know…although she's bound to find out…the post-wedding lunch is in forty-five minutes…"

I turned to him, gobsmacked. "But I have to change!"

"Why? You look good in that!"

"Harry!"

"What?" He asked innocently, only to shake his head when he saw my face. "Some of your clothes are still in your room. I've never really gotten to giving them back to you."

Without hesitating, I ran up the stairs to see what was left. I didn't really feel like going back home to change only to travel again to be in time for Mum's lunch.

I opened the drawer where I used to keep some spare changes of clothes and the first thing I saw was my favourite jumper. That little bugger! All this time I'd been thinking Fred and George had used it as some kind of guinea pig when it'd been lying here, waiting to be worn. I put it on and went downstairs.

"You had my favourite jumper!" I said accusingly as I re-entered the kitchen.

Harry looked up from the paper and nodded. "I kept it here deliberately. I was hoping you would go looking for it and somehow end up here so I could explain things."

I was speechless.

Really, I was. All this time everybody had been keeping us apart and he had wanted to tell me everything!

Then I started to feel guilty because I kind of had been the reason everybody had been keeping us apart.

"I'll go put on some clothes so we can go to the Burrow." He put his cup in the sink, pressed a kiss on my cheek and went upstairs.

To keep my mind from wandering onto dangerous grounds, I started the dishes. And when they were done, I cleaned the kitchen only to stop when I heard someone laughing behind me. Hoping with all my might that it wasn't one of my brothers that had been sent here to check up on Harry, I turned around.

Thank Merlin it was only Harry!

"I have to invite you over more often!" he laughed. I dropped the wet towel over the back of a chair and turned to Harry. "Shall we go?" he asked as he offered me his hand.

We Disapparated the moment my hand touched his and it was all too familiar. He transported us to the paddock and for some reason I got the urge to kiss him.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it," Harry said with a look in his eyes that suggested so much more than only memories.

"Mum will be waiting," I said softly, but only after I'd received another kiss from Harry. Together, we walked back to the Burrow where Harry entered the kitchen first.

"Harry!" I heard Mum squeal. "We were so worried! We can't find Ginny anywhere! Please…"

"I'm here, Mum," I said before Harry would get the third degree. Apparently those fears of brothers walking in on Harry and me weren't so ridiculous. "Fred, George, loved your fireworks!"

Mum looked scandalized, but decided not to say anything about it. Behind her, Fred and George were giving each other wicked grins.

"Ginny!" Mum said instead. "Now where have you been, young lady!" She had apparently forgotten all about Harry. Which wasn't really fair since he was the reason everyone had been out searching for me. "You were sleeping when we left you and Harry promised to take you home. I told you that third Butterbeer was more than enough!" I raised an eyebrow. I'd probably had much more than only three Butterbeers if I'd waken up with a hangover like I had that morning. But Mum wasn't finished yet. "And when I went to your apartment to check if everything was alright, you weren't to be found!" The furious look on her face changed into an anguished one. "You didn't go home with that Dean boy, did you?"

"What? NO!" I exclaimed, "I stayed at Harry's."

Behind Mum, five redheaded men let their mouths fall open in shock when only moments before they'd been trying very hard to look as if they were doing anything but eavesdropping. Yes, Percy included.

And Harry was no help, because I could hear soft chuckles escape from his mouth as Mum tried to overcome her shock.

"So…" she said finally, "You two made up, didn't you?"

"That's one way to put it." Fred was the first of my brothers to regain his composure.

"Fred!" Mum and I berated him immediately. Bill and Charlie were looking from me to Harry and back again, not really sure what to think of the situation. Percy simply shook his head in exasperation. George was doing his very best not to burst out laughing.

"Mum!" Fred exclaimed. "She stayed the…"

"Fred!" Mum and I said once more.

"Hello everyone!"

Remus and Tonks saved Fred by entering the kitchen.

"Remus, Tonks," Mum turned back to housewife-mode immediately. "I'm so happy you two could make it."

"Anything we can do to help?" Remus offered.

Mum took one look at Tonks (who didn't seem offended at all by this) and shook her head. "Oh no. It's almost finished. The boys only have to set up the table." One look from Mum was enough for my brothers to jump up from the table and start rummaging in cupboards. Harry made a movement to help them, but Mum was quicker.

"Nonsense," she said. "You're a guest. Fleur, Penelope and Angelina are sitting in the living room with Arthur…why don't you four go join them."

And with one swish of her wand, she opened the door to the living room as though making sure we wouldn't help.

Well, you won't hear me complaining!

* * *

"Bugger!" I exclaimed as my eyes fell on _him_. I grabbed Evy's hand and took her down with me. "Duck." 

"Why?" she asked confused.

"Slughorn is sitting in the stands," I explained, my eyes not leaving that walrus-like moustache.

"Horace?" Evy asked. "But he's okay!"

I looked at her. Was she mad? "You've never had him as a teacher, have you? Never been part of the Slug Club?"

"No, but he's been to games plenty of times. Really. He's okay." She stood back up again. "If you want, I can introduce…"

"NO!" I exclaimed. "I mean…I've met him. I'm good. No need to meet him."

Evy looked at me as if I was the one that had gone mental instead of her. "Well, if you're sure you're alright, shall we go out on the pitch and play?"

Knowing that Gwenog would probably kick me off the team if I didn't get out there soon, I nodded unwillingly and followed her out on the pitch.

"…and Weasley!" I heard the commentator say the moment I got on the pitch. "And the rumours are flying back and forth about her and Harry Potter once more. Let's have a poll, people. What do you think? Did she really get back together with the boy who lived or is this just another stunt from the _Prophet _to get more readers? If you agree with choice one, send green sparks up. If you agree with the second option, send red sparks up!"

I looked up amazed to see who was commentating. Not a lot of people agree that the _Prophet_ is just a bit of rubbish. I flew a little bit closer to the commentator's box when a "Well hello there, Ginny!" sounded throughout the whole stadium.

Well bugger all! Dean Thomas was a Quidditch commentator?

* * *

It didn't take long before we were in the lead…unfortunately. Evy, Lynette and Julie were a marvellous team, contrary to what I'd hoped. It's not that hard to understand that if they'd played terribly, I would probably have been playing Chaser much sooner than if they were playing like they were now. 

Sodding Gwenog Jones.

Only a few feet away, the Quafflepunchers' Seeker was hopelessly lost. It was obvious that they were called Quiberon Quafflepunchers for a reason. I mean, unless their first string Seeker was playing for France now, they had been bloody stupid to let Tammy go.

This bloke had made 7 dives and speed-ups in the last half hour because he 'saw something blinking'. Dean's commentary on this had been hilarious.

"And look at this!" he'd said not even a minute ago. "Weasley doesn't even look up anymore. Great thinking, girl!" I'd almost turned to fly into him to teach him to stop saying 'girl', but the fact that the Snitch could decide to make it's appearance right then and the fact that I'd never seen Luna more happy (not even when Harry had asked her out to Slughorn's party), kept me.

But the Snitch was obviously lazy today and after a deep sigh, I looked down to see Tamzin block another shot.

Mr I-can't-tell-the-difference-between-a-Snitch-and-a-raindrop flew over to me. I took an apprehensive stance, not knowing whether he was stupid enough to try to make conversation or actually had grown some brains to use this as a diversionary tactic.

"Great weather, isn't it?" he asked after managing to gather up enough courage.

He wanted to talk about the weather?!? It was raining! What's so great about that?

"I s'pose…" I therefore said warily.

"Reminds me of the Dutch weather," he nodded appreciatively. Oh come on! It's raining!

"Is it mandatory for Dutch Quidditch players to play for the Quafflepunchers?" I asked, remembering that Tammy had been on this team.

"Oh so you do know Tamar!" he exclaimed delighted. "I thought so because you also play Seeker."

I didn't even try to correct him. No use anyway…for now I was a Seeker, whether I wanted to be or not. So I simply said, "Yes," and scanned the pitch once more for any clue that the Snitch might have shown its sodding silvery wings.

He stuck out his hand. "I'm Michiel. Tamar might have mentioned me."

I looked at him oddly and totally forgot the hand. That name struck a chord with me… "Oh!" I exclaimed suddenly, "You cheated on her!"

His cheeks became redder than I'd ever seen. And growing up in a family of redheads makes you quite an expert on turning red.

"Er…" he started, but I didn't pay any attention to him. The Snitch had finally shown its wings.

So I pressed my body to my broom and sped up faster than I'd ever done. I really didn't want to lose just because the other Seeker was faster. Not when he'd done all these wrong chases in the past thirty minutes.

In less than a second I'd turned out of my Chaser mode and into Seeker mode. I sped up a bit more and saw that the Snitch had noticed that a chase had begun and started to get away. He flew a bit lower and I followed it without any hesitation. Ten feet. Only ten feet and I would have it. I risked a quick glance to make sure the other Seeker wasn't following me (or worse, waiting for me only to snatch the Snitch right from under my nose).

"Come on," I muttered as I gained five feet.

My hand left my broom handle to make the distance even smaller. Three feet and the other Seeker nowhere to be seen. I heard a dull 'thunk' but the lack of pain told me that it was nothing to worry about.

And suddenly the Snitch lay trapped in my hand and I realized that I was getting magnificently close to the ground. As quickly as I could, I turned the handle back up again and held the Snitch triumphantly up in the air.

"And this proves why Ginny Weasley has been named Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies!" Dean yelled through the stadium. "It makes you wonder…does she get private lessons from Har…"

I shook my head, tuned him out and flew down to take a shower before the masses would take me down to congratulate me on a catch a five-year-old could have made. Well, unless that five-year-old was named Michiel…

So I took a quick shower, dressed into normal clothes and walked out of the locker rooms only to see Harry standing there, grinning broadly.

"Did you hear?" he grinned. "I taught you how to Seek!"

I shook my head with a smile and kissed him hello. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be…er…working?"

The grin on Harry's face only got bigger. "Tonks gave me a week off. She reckons I need some time for myself after everything that happened with the wedding. Besides, the team's based in England now."

Well bugger all! "And Mad-Eye is okay with that?" I asked, sneaking my arms around his neck.

"He has to be, doesn't he?" Harry shrugged, turning his head to kiss me.

But before either one of us had had the time to close the gap, a voice behind us said, "Oh ho ho!"

My hand immediately went up to my mouth and I looked at Harry with fear in my eyes… "Please tell me it isn't true…" I whispered.

I didn't need Harry to answer my question, because the voice continued, "It seems that the _Prophet_ was true then."

"Hello professor Slughorn," I said as I turned around to see him.

"You were marvellous, Miss Weasley," Slughorn said with a genuine smile on his face. "Ah…and I sent green sparks up in the air!"

Next to me, Harry snorted, followed with a muttered, "Mind you, I did the same thing…" that almost caused me to burst out laughing.

"And _you_!" Slughorn turned to Harry. "Seeker for England…well done, well done."

"Thanks," Harry said, obviously not knowing how to answer that. "But Ginny, we have to go, don't we? Your mum is waiting."

We didn't have…oh! "Yes," I said immediately. "Yes. I'm sorry professor, but just come to our next match. Maybe we can catch up then."

"Of course," he smiled, "I was looking for Gwenog anyway. Off you go, off you go."

Harry and I didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

**A/N:** Consider this an early _Sinterklaas_ present...because although it isn't until the 5th of December, my family is going to celebrate it in three days. Presents, here I come! 


	23. Fool

**A/N:** Er...happy Christmas? I meant to get this up before Christmas, but then my beta told me that the ending wasn't right (which, let's be honest, was the truth) and I had to rewrite it and she had to rebeta it and then suddenly, Christmas had passed. I hope you all had a good one (or whatever you are celebrating in your families) and I wish you all a good new year, because I probably won't be able to update before the end of December.

Thanks for all the reviews and now...on with the chapter!

* * *

Fool

We lost the next match.

All right, it was very much to be expected seeing how it had been _this_ close or Puddlemere United's Seeker, Jack Night, had been a part of the England National Team. And to my credit, it went okay right up until Night started to make this amazingly steep dive.

Now, I don't know if you remember, but I'm on very friendly terms with Harry Potter. We even went to the last Quidditch World Cup together. So I'm also very familiar with a Seeker manoeuvre called 'Wronski Feint' (do you know that Harry and Ron actually managed to teach Hermione how to say it? A miracle if I ever saw one!). And everybody watching would agree with me that this dive looked very much like said 'Wronski Feint'…so I shouldn't really be blamed for putting more value on my life than catching the Snitch and not going after him, should I?

Well, apparently Gwenog reckons I should.

"Weasley!" she yelled the moment I came back on the ground after that match. I cringed, but walked towards her anyway.

"Why didn't you catch the Snitch?" she demanded, glaring menacingly.

"Excuse me," I said, feeling a bit offended. "Were you up there? Did you _see_ his catch?"

"All I know is that you're a Seeker and it's your job to _catch the Snitch_!" Gwenog bellowed.

"That was suicide!" I yelled back indignantly.

"SUICIDE?!?" Gwenog cried out in anger. Behind her, Robbins was observing our fight with glee written all over her face. "Pray tell, _Ginny_, what do you call that first goal you made in the League finals?"

Oh, she wanted to go that way!

So I put my hands on my hips and hissed furiously, "_This_ was a Seeker move. _That_ was a Chaser attack. I don't know if you remember, but I tried out for the Chaser position, not Seeker!"

Gwenog's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm the Captain, Weasley. I get to decide the positions. If you don't watch out, you can forget your place on this team."

Behind me, I heard Evy and Meredith make protesting noises, but one glare from Gwenog shut them up.

"Fine," I said. "But who will you put in as Seeker until Tammy returns? Robbins?"

For a moment, just one little moment, there flickered something like defeat on Gwenog's face.

"I will stop complaining about having to play Seeker," I continued. "As long as you don't get angry when I keep out of suicidal moves."

Gwenog seemed to think this over for a second, but then she stuck her hand out and nodded, "Fair enough. Showers everybody! We have another game in less than a fortnight and I expect us to win it."

I absolutely didn't need to be told twice, especially since I had kind of made an appointment with Harry…we hadn't had time to really talk things over when Slughorn caught us. Because when we got back to the Burrow, Mad-Eye was waiting for Harry to tell him that no matter how many weddings he had to attend, there was a job waiting for him and with that, he Disapparated, quickly followed by Harry. And they only got back yesterday.

So Harry sent me an owl, saying that he had to 'drop off something at Ron's office' and that I could 'meet up with Tonks' so we could 'casually bump into each other'. Seriously, even Goy…well, maybe not Goyle…but even Smith could put two and two together and see right through the 'dropping something off at Ron's office' thing, seeing as Ron was still on his honeymoon with Hermione.

But this is Harry Potter we're talking about and how could I refuse him anything? So I took a quick shower and Disapparated to the Ministry…with a face that could cause thunder to start on a very bright and sunny day.

"Oh, that bad?" Tonks said as I let myself fall down on the chair in front of her desk.

"Yes…" I muttered. "Harry's not finished yet?"

She shook her head. "So, what was it this time? You caught the Snitch too fast?"

"Do you read the _Prophet_ or do you only get it so you can throw it away immediately?" I asked, nodding my head in the direction of the bin that was literally bursting with paper.

"No time," Tonks shrugged. She let out a deep sigh and shoved the paperwork she'd been working on when I got in to the side. "I won't be able to finish it today anyway. Spill."

And I told her of all my frustrations with Gwenog, Seeker dives and the obvious lack of Chasing in my life.

Funny enough, Tonks actually grinned when I finished.

"What?" I asked, feeling a bit hurt about the fact that she was so openly laughing at me.

"Those are your problems?" she asked, still grinning. "You should've seen me in France a few months ago."

A few months…that was…oh, this should be interesting!

"So here I was, at this café, waiting for Harry to turn up and boring the living daylights out of me because apart from trying to see how long it would take them to make my coffee, there really wasn't anything else to do. So I decided to trick Harry and turned myself into you. Well, as good as I could, anyway."

I looked at her, confused, but she continued before I could say anything. "I only wanted to freak him out a bit, seeing as he was getting tired of you two not talking to each other and I probably would have succeeded, had that couple not decided to get a drink on the very same terrace. But still, no sign of Harry, so I was starting to think that the couple would be gone before I would have to change back…when, to my absolute horror, Harry sat down with this awfully determined look he gets when he's decided to do something and no one can keep him from it."

I must say I know the look. Harry sported it when he decided to tell me everything. And when he got it in his head that it would be a good idea to start kind of dating again. We really should talk about that…

But Tonks continued, "He looked me in the eyes…I swear I tried to change their colour, but I was too stressed out from the fact that he actually thought I was you to make it happen fast enough…and said, 'I should have told you this ages ago, but I was being too much of a prat to think straight and do the right thing…' and then the whole story came out. How he didn't want to be an Auror at first, but decided to give it a go when I asked him…" She grinned. "But I'm sure he already told you that. Anyway, thank Merlin for giving the couple some inspiration to leave, because just before he would surely start telling about how he had never stopped loving you, they left and I very quickly turned my hair blue." She looked very serious at that moment. "I've never heard Harry use the words he used right then and before we could've discussed anything, he got up and left."

"I don't really see how this is worse than what I went through," I said tentatively.

Tonks snorted. "Harry didn't speak to me for two weeks…which wouldn't have been so bad, were it not that the mission we were working on was one of the highest priority possible. We were told to finish it the day before we got the assignment. You should have seen Mad-Eye…I never feared so much for my job than the moment Mad-Eye got in when he'd just heard what had happened in France. He started going on and on about how I was supposed to be the responsible one and that no matter what was going on, I should never bring unneeded danger to the mission. The fact that I tried to explain that I'd been bored, only made everything much worse."

"What happened then?" I asked curiously.

"Ron and Remus went to talk to Harry," Tonks said. "It took their combined efforts to let Harry come back to the mission, but even then he didn't want to report back to me for at least another week."

I'd been a fool.

Harry had wanted to come back to me, to explain everything to me from…well, maybe not the _very_ beginning, but at least not very long after our break-up and I had acted all angry and frustrated and furious enough to make everybody believe that we were better kept apart than together.

Fool doesn't even _begin_ to describe me…

"Are you alright?" Tonks asked when I'd been silent for a few minutes.

"Yeah…" I croaked. "When will Harry be finished?"

Tonks shrugged, "Should be any moment now." Her face turned into a mischievous grin. "Why…got some wicked plans for him tonight?"

"No," I sighed, not in the mood to joke with her. "I have to grovel and apologize until he takes me back. But I shouldn't get my hopes up…I don't deserve him…"

The smile that appeared on Tonks' face told me I was very wrong.

"What?" I asked, bewildered.

But she didn't answer. No, instead she jumped up…well, as good as possible with only one leg that can really carry you…and said, "Ah! Harry!"

I turned around to see Harry looking at me as if I'd grown a few extra heads.

"We were supposed to bump into each other?" I offered feebly.

"Of course!" Harry replied immediately. "Well Tonks, I'm off then, Remus gives you his regards."

"Right back at ya!" Tonks winked. "Ginny, say 'hi' to your family, will you?" And with that, we Disapparated.

* * *

"You hate me, right?" I asked as we entered Grimmauld Place wordlessly.

Harry looked at me with a confused look on his face. "Why on earth do you think that?" He walked into the kitchen and started to make some tea.

I looked at him as if he'd gone bonkers. "You don't hate me?" I finally said.

He turned around and looked me in the eye. "Why…should I?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "I'm the reason we broke up! I'm the reason it took us such a bloody long time to talk again. I'm the reason we're still not back together."

"We aren't?" Harry asked, the tea totally forgotten.

"We are?" I asked in answer. "When did that happen?"

"The day after Ron and Hermione's wedding," Harry said. "We kissed…snogged! How can we not be together after that?"

"Well…" I said tentatively, "I thought that was my fault…"

When Harry didn't say anything, I continued, "I told you not to come back until you would start explaining everything. And then I told everybody around me what a buggering, idiotic prat you were so that when you could have come back, nobody would let you, because they kind of expected us to start to fight. Especially Hermione. And when you took care of me after the wedding, I started to yell at you for not taking me back to my place! Even though I was the one that persuaded Tammy to change the wards, because you would otherwise be able to enter them. And then…"

"I get your point," Harry interrupted me quickly. "It's your fault."

"Exactly," I agreed.

"It's not your fault," he shook his head.

"It isn't?" I asked, confused.

"Well, not totally, anyway. I really didn't have any time to tell you, even if your family wouldn't have kept us apart. And I could have prevented everything if I'd just listened to Tonks and Ron and told you everything when it started." He looked at me. "Although you could have been nicer about me rescuing you from the ever watchful eye of your mother after the wedding."

At that moment, the kettle started to whistle and Harry turned back around to quickly turn it off. He poured two cups of tea and we sat down at the table.

"So…" I said, remembering something, "you really weren't kidding when you said at the last match that you sent those green sparks up."

He got a goofy grin on his face, but it suddenly disappeared. "Unless you of course don't want us to be together again."

I could see he was very serious and this made a smile appear on my face. "You almost told Tonks you still were in love with me while you two were on a mission. Any girl would die to have that kind of boyfriend. Besides, I would disappoint my brothers to no end if I didn't end up with you. The amount of times they teased me about my crush on the Boy Who Lived…you'd think they…"

Harry shut me up by kissing me and I gladly let him.

* * *

"What are you so happy about?" Evy asked as I entered the locker rooms the next day. Oh well, I dunno…it surely wouldn't have anything to do with Harry and me being back together, now would it? No, surely not…

"You look as if you've got a new boyf…oh! Do you?"

Lie, Ginny, lie! You're good at acting; say 'no'! "Yes," I grinned. Bugger.

"You do?" Tamzin sat down with us. Julie and Lynette were peering from around the corner.

"Practice starts in five minutes, I…" I started, but Tamzin protested, "Of course you can, just tell us his name. It's a man, right?"

"Yes," I said as I took my robes off and started to pull my Quidditch robes over my head. "And that's all you're going to hear. For some reason, Gwenog wants me to play Seeker and I really have to practise for it." I grabbed my broom and walked out onto the pitch, quickly followed by Evy.

"Oh come on, Ginny!" she said. "You know that our lives are boring! Tell us something, anything!"

"He's ruggedly handsome," I grinned. "Good morning, Gwenog! Which moves do you want me to practise today?"

"Did you accept anything to eat from your brothers?" she asked, only to turn to Evy afterwards. "Did she?"

"She's got a _boyfriend_," Evy grinned. "Won't tell us who it is, though."

"Oh give it a rest," I snapped and I mounted my broom to speed up into the air. They could all just sod off for all I cared!

The following two hours saw one of the best practices I ever had. And unfortunately, Gwenog saw it too…

"Weasley," she called after practice. I sighed, but walked over there anyway.

"You can Seek," was all she said when I got there.

"Okay," I said, not really knowing what to do.

"I can see it's not really your thing and it's obvious that you are much more at ease when you Chase…but please…as long as Tammy has to play with the Dutch team, fly like you did today and we make a fair chance at winning some games."

"I will," I promised.

Gwenog smiled. "So, who's the new bloke?"

"Harry Potter," I said without turning a hair.

Gwenog burst out laughing and slapped me on the shoulder. "Good one, Ginny, hilarious! Oh…wait till the others hear this! But after that, you have to tell who it really is, all right?"

I merely nodded. It really was no use to correct her if she didn't believe me in the first place, wasn't it?

"Really Ginny, this is a bit over the top," Gwenog said as she opened the doors to the Harpies Quarters.

"What?" I asked…what was she talking about?

"Hullo Gin," I heard Harry's voice and a big grin came to life on my face.

"Hello there Harry," I grinned, "What brings you here on this very nice, but also very cold April day?"

"You," he smiled and he kissed me hello. "Hello Gwenog," he said afterwards.

She only looked horror struck. "Harry Potter?" she finally managed to say.

"Yes," Harry said a bit confused, "We _have_ met."

Gwenog turned to me. "You're dating Harry Potter."

"Yes," I smiled and then I lowered my voice to a whisper, "He's teaching me some moves I can use to catch the Snitch." I turned back to Harry. "Speaking of which, weren't you supposed to have practice with the National Team?"

"Yes I am," he said as he turned his watch to me. On there it read '_Still some time to spend with Ginny_'.

I grinned. "If you give me some time to go shower and get dressed, I'll come with you to practice."

* * *

Remember how I said that the pitch was huge when I got to the National Team try-outs? I was wrong. Very wrong even.

Harry took me to the visitors' entrance and said that seeing as parts of the stands were still being built, I would have to sit with the managers. Now, I have quite some experience with Quidditch pitches. It comes with being a professional Quidditch player…but I very soon got lost once I entered this building.

"Miss Weasley!" I heard someone call and I turned around quickly. Did I know people here? And as I saw the man that had called me, I suddenly remembered who the managers were. Karl and Kevin Broadmoor.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," Kevin Broadmoor said, "Are you here to watch the practice?"

I nodded, still too baffled to say anything.

"The stands are over here," he beckoned as he walked the opposite direction I wanted to go to. Right…

"So, Miss Weasley," Kevin Broadmoor started a conversation, "I noticed you've become a Seeker. What made you choose that particular career?"

It was obvious he thought I wanted to play Seeker just because Harry did. So I answered indignantly, "Excuse me! _I'm_ a Chaser. Right now I'm just chasing a Snitch instead of a Quaffle."

"But the Harpies have a reserve Seeker, don't they?" We entered a small cafeteria, which we walked through to get to a door that led to some very steep stairs.

"You've never seen her Seek, have you?" I asked as we started to climb the stairs.

Kevin Broadmoor looked at me strangely and didn't respond. Instead, he pushed the door open and announced, "Look what I've found wandering around."

"Miss Weasley!" I heard from several sides. Was I this well known? I looked around…Karl Broadmoor was sitting together with a witch and a wizard I didn't know, the reserve Keeper from the Cannons was looking at me with a horrified look on his face, Catriona McCormack (yes, _the_ Catriona McCormack) was giving me a look of approval when suddenly…

"Ginny!"

What…? I spun around quickly to see who'd called me and came face to face with Katie Bell.

"Katie!" I exclaimed, surprised.

"You two know each other?" Karl Broadmoor called from the other side of the box.

"We played together at Hogwarts," I beamed. Thank Merlin for a friendly face. "What are you doing here?"

She started to blush. "I'm supporting Oliver…"

I started to grin…well, who'd have thought that they would end up together!

"I suppose you're the reason why Harry came in looking happier than he's been in the last few months?" Katie whispered so that the others (who were doing their very best to hear what we were saying) couldn't hear us.

I simply grinned.

"So…" she continued, "I heard Gwenog Jones tricked you into playing Seeker."

I pulled a face, "Yes," and corrected myself quickly. "I mean, it's great, it really is, but I'm a Chaser!" I sighed. "I feel like a whining baby every time I tell someone this…"

"But you're quite good," Katie answered. "I remember from sixth year…you were no Harry Potter…"

I snorted and Katie started to laugh, "All right, you're no Cho…well, actually, you were a Cho Chang." She smiled. "I suppose that's the problem…you're quite good at Seeking. But oh…" She started to grin. "Remember when Harry told us you were going to play Seeker because he'd gotten in that detention over Malfoy?"

I started to grin too…boy, do I ever! Harry had looked so defeated when he told us Dean was coming back to play Chaser and I was to play Seeker…I didn't dare react any other way than just agreeing to it. But when he left and Demelza told me I would do great as a Seeker, because I'd done great the year before, I snapped at her.

"Why doesn't he have a reserve Seeker as well as a reserve Chaser?" I asked sulking.

Both Demelza and Katie had looked at each other carefully until Katie answered, "You_ are_ the reserve Seeker," which earned her a Quaffle to the head.

The grin on my face turned into a frown…I should apologize for that… "I'm sorry for the Quaffle I threw at you," I smiled apologetically. "What have you been up to lately?"

"I'm a Healer…finally!" she grinned.

I started to laugh, "Oliver's girlfriend doesn't play Quidditch? Bugger, what's the world coming to!"

"I wouldn't dare to play Quidditch," Katie laughed with me. "I probably wouldn't be fanatic enough." She pulled me towards the front row of seats where Catriona McCormack was sitting. "Practice has started…you chose a good one to show at, they will be playing a little scrimmage against the reserves…oh, this is Catriona. Catriona, this is Ginny Weasley, Cha…"

"Chaser of the Holyhead Harpies," Catriona finished Katie's sentence. "I love your technique…it's a shame you're playing Seeker."

"Ah well, that's only temporary," I smiled, gobsmacked that _Catriona McCormack_ loved my technique…especially since I don't really have a technique. Most of the time I just grab my broom and start flying. "I'll be Chasing again after the World Cup."

Katie nodded and turned to the Cannons reserve Keeper. "And this is Luke Bloss, his sister is one of the reserve Beaters. Luke, this is Ginny Weasley."

"We played each other," he said while shaking my hand and looking not even one bit less horrified than before.

"Yes," I grimaced, "sorry about that…we just wanted to win…so, your sister got on the team? Has she played a lot of games lately?"

He immediately started to recount all the times his sister had been called onto the team to replace one of the injured Beaters, one of them the match against the Netherlands.

"Oh!" I exclaimed quickly before he could continue…he wasn't one of the most gifted storytellers… "I've been to that game! They played really well." I turned back to Katie and Catriona McCormack, who were discussing the differences between the Keepers.

"…Oliver has shown great progress," Katie commented.

"Oliver needs to remember to protect his left hoop," I joined the conversation.

Catriona McCormack started to laugh, "That's what I've been saying all this time. Wood's a great player, he really is! Very dedicated too…but that left hoop of his is being neglected a few times too often."

"But you have to agree that Meaghan flies too much into the game," Katie answered.

"She just does that so she can see what's going on in the game," Bloss observed calmly as he nodded to the game that was going on before us. And indeed, for a Keeper, she flew further away from the hoops than necessary. But then, just as the reserve Chasers were speeding up, she recoiled to the hoops to defend them. "It's Hodges you got to watch out for, "Bloss continued. "She looks innocent and everything, 'cause she's so young and a girl, but I've seen games where there was no way to get past her."

I started to grin. Rachel did save us quite a few times.

"But they haven't put her on the field yet," Catriona McCormack shrugged. "And I don't see that happening anytime soon. Isn't she second reserve for the game this weekend?"

Bloss started to smile. "That's because they're playing Ireland. They only have to watch out for Ireland's Seeker and Potter will be taking care of that."

Catriona McCormack looked at him. "Are you saying that my daughter can't keep?"

"No, otherwise she wouldn't be in the base," Bloss continued as he turned his gaze back on the game before us. "But Hodges…she's the safe bet when you know you've got to hold the Chasers down for a very long time. Any match that lasts less than two hours won't be a problem without her. And with Potter on the team, all the matches they've played up until now were less than two hours long."

For a bloke that seriously couldn't save his life by telling about how his sister was doing on the National Team, Bloss really had a good insight in the team's workings.

Catriona McCormack nodded, "Yes, Potter is quite a catch. Who'd have thought that the boy who lived could play Quidditch this well?"

I turned away from the game, catching a confused look from Katie. "You don't understand, do you?" I said to Catriona McCormack. "That man up there, flying, isn't the boy who lived. That man is Harry Potter, nothing more, nothing less."

Next to me, Katie nodded in agreement, "Yes, Harry's never really been the boy who lived."

At that moment, Harry started to plummet down, leaving the reserve he was playing against far behind him. Bloss started to grin and behind us, the witch that sat with the Broadmoor brothers sighed, "We really should exclude Potter from these matches to give the reserves a chance."

* * *

**A/N:** So...here it is! Sorry for the long wait... 


	24. A tickling reunion

**A/N:** When my beta returned this chapter to me, she said (and I quote): "If your readers give you a hard time about it coming late, say your beta's life was consumed by an evil army of homework!"

So now you know...no, seriously, I'm to blame too, because my life's been quite hectic in the past few weeks and it probably won't calm down for another month. So, bear with me, okay?

In the meantime, enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

A tickling reunion

NINA TENNFJORD REVEALS ALL 

_Yes, you read correctly. Amidst the reports from the _Prophet_ about Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley being back together again, _Witch Weekly_ is proud to announce that she managed to get an interview with none other than Nina Tennfjord, the witch that may or may not have had a relationship with the most eligible wizard in the UK, if not the world._

_And they sent me, your favourite reporter, off to Norway to talk to her about everything Harry Potter and more. We met in a little casual café in the middle of Oslo, where I almost walked past Miss Tennfjord because I had expected the new it-witch to be dressed in the most fashionable robes. Thank Merlin she recognized me from a former interview I had with Auror Ron Weasley (and where she had been present)._

_Let me tell you girls, Nina Tennfjord is an excellent example that you do not need to buy the newest robes out there to look absolutely fashionably stunning. She told me that she only wore nice robes at parties and functions since they can be pretty uncomfortable for everyday use. At my remark that it also mustn't be very practical to be an Auror in fancy robes, she burst out laughing._

_Because Nina Tennfjord never has been an Auror. She went to Durmstrang Institute for her magical education and was supposed to start working at the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Norwegian Ministry of Magic when the war started. At the outside, the whole Tennfjord clan kept a neutral appearance when at the inside, families were divided between supporting You Know Who and fighting against him. Nina and her family chose the latter._

"_We just _did_," she commented when I asked her why. "We've always been friends with families like the Malfoys and the Blacks and I've spent quite some time with their children when growing up. But every time we got back from a visit, my mum and dad would explain to me that there was no such thing as 'superior blood'. I think that just stuck with me all through Durmstrang and when Thorbjørn (Larsson, Head of the Norwegian Auror Department – ed.) asked me if I wanted to help them out by providing information on the cases they were working on, I didn't hesitate at all."_

_Under the guise of a Ministry official, Nina Tennfjord managed to expand the contacts she'd made at a very young age. "I've got friends in the most powerful wizarding families in the world, as well as some Muggle ones," she smiled. "I'm glad the war is over, because I can come out now. Although at the end, most witches and wizards knew I was involved somehow. I got caught two times and one of them I almost died."_

_But if you ask her whether she's left the dangerous world of a spy, she starts to laugh. "You never really leave it. There's always a case that needs some help and somehow they always manage to find me for the job."_

_And indeed, it was because of her contacts within the wizarding world that she was introduced to Harry Potter. "Harry is the most charming wizard in the world. I absolutely love him."_

I looked up from the magazine Tonks had given me to keep me busy so she could finish up her work. I was waiting for Harry to finish his evaluation hearing (which of course ran late because those kinds of things always run late). We were supposed to pick Ron and Hermione up from an airport or something…and so I went to Tonks' office to catch up a bit.

"You love him?" I asked her.

Tonks looked up and I showed her the article. "Well yes," she answered. "I have to. He's the kind-of-godson of my boyfriend."

"I'll tell Harry you said that!" I shook my head as I turned back to the article.

_But they never dated._

"_Oh no!" Nina exclaimed in shock when I said that. "We are both too busy with work. He has to go all over the world to play Quidditch and I am arranging everything for the World Cup Finals. Besides, he's had a girlfriend most of the time."_

_Since preparations for the Finals in Norway run high, Nina doesn't have that much free time on her hands. "But I don't mind," she laughs. "I love my job and I'm happy that Harry has gotten back with his girlfriend."_

_When I mention that it's mostly rumours, she looks a bit perplexed and says, "You went to school with them. Don't you think they're back together again?"_

"Tonks!" I exclaimed, shocked.

"What?" she said.

"You told Lavender Brown, a reporter, that _you_ know that _she_ knows both Harry and me? Even though you were supposed to be a Norwegian witch that never met me and therefore couldn't possibly know how I was at school?"

Tonks grinned. "But that same Norwegian witch knew the Malfoys and apparently their son told them a lot about what was going on at Hogwarts. Including how you and Harry were always dancing around each other."

"Excuse me! We weren't!" I said indignantly. Well, he wasn't…I might have been… I sighed and put the magazine back on Tonks' desk when my eye fell upon a picture I had never seen before.

"What's _that_?" I asked as I grabbed the picture from her desk. To my utmost amazement, she started to blush and tried to take the picture out of my hands.

Nuh uh! No way was _that_ going to happen! I turned around quickly and managed to get away from her prying hands. Which, let's face it, isn't that difficult when you think about the fact that even though Tonks may have been one of the best Aurors in her day, she was now crippled while I still played professional Quidditch.

But what in Merlin's name was special about this…wait… "Is that Remus?"

Tonks sighed in defeat and nodded.

"But who are…oh! This is James and Sirius, isn't it? Who's the little girl?" A little girl with long brown hair was looking up at Remus with a look I recognized only too well from pictures taken of me during first year at Hogwarts. And then, as I was watching, her hair turned into a soft shade of pink.

I couldn't help myself; I burst out laughing. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Yes," Tonks answered testily.

I bit my lip to prevent myself from laughing harder as Tonks sighed deeply.

"It's the most embarrassing period of my life," she finally said. I didn't really trust myself to say something, so I simply continued to grin broadly.

"My mum wanted to see Sirius and brought me with her since I was only five," she caved in with a sigh. "I didn't really get it as I couldn't understand why on earth she wanted to meet up with some serious bloke…I mean, what's the fun in that? But still, I was _five_, so I couldn't exactly stay home alone.

When we got there, there was this man with glasses, running around and going on and on about his wife being pregnant and him going to be a father while this other man was gripping his shoulder to prevent himself from falling down with laughter. I tugged on my mum's robes, but she found the whole 'getting a baby'-conversation much more interesting than her own daughter. And then the third and most wonderful man crouched down on his knees…"

"He got _on his knees_?!?" I exclaimed, bursting out in laughter once again.

Tonks glared, "As I said…I was _FIVE_…and he explained how when a man and a woman love each other very much they can become a Mummy and a Daddy. And that was exactly what was happening with James and his wife Lily.

'Is that why he's acting so weird?' I asked him then. He merely chuckled and said that James and Sirius normally acted that way. Then he looked up at my mum, looked back at me and asked me if I wanted to bake some cookies for the new baby…although it was around Christmas, so Harry wasn't even _near_ being born!

Yet, Remus took me to the kitchen and helped me with the dough, until Sirius entered and asked him if he was all right and didn't need to take a nap. He would gladly take over the cookie making in order to spend some quality time with his niece.

I looked up at Remus and asked him if it was because of me…Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but Remus was faster, 'No,' he said, 'I've got a furry little problem to take care of every once in a while.' 'Oh!' I answered, understanding everything. 'Do you have a dog?' At this, Remus burst out laughing while Sirius looked horror struck. Especially when Remus answered, 'Oh yes, he's horrible.'"

Tonks hid her face in her hands. "I know it's hard to believe, but at that moment I was certain I was in love."

"That's not so hard to believe," I said before I could help myself.

Tonks' head shot up and she started to grin, "Oh yes…your crush on _Harry Potter_!"

"I reckon it's safe to say that 'crush' was a bit of an understatement," I groaned.

"I reckon it's cute," Harry entered the office.

"You see, Ginny," Tonks cooed. "It's cute."

I glared at her and then turned back to Harry with a mischievous smile. "She's had a crush on Remus since she was five." And I showed him the picture.

It didn't take us very long to Disapparate once we saw the look on Tonks' face.

* * *

When Ron and Hermione were looking for places to go for their honeymoon after the wedding, Hermione suggested that they could do it the Muggle way. As in, take a plane to some exotic, deserted island where no one would be able to reach them…especially in the wizard way… 

No magic, can you believe it! Hermione told me I wasn't to contact them by floo, owl or any other magical means of communication. And when I asked her if she could give me her address in case of emergencies, she started to laugh and told me she'd know.

I mean…I know Unspeakables have all these secret ways of communicating with each other, but say I have something big to tell her? Like, oh, I don't know…_getting back together with Harry_!!!

No, she doesn't know that…unless…

"Harry, did you talk to Ron in the past few weeks?" I asked him.

"No," Harry answered. "Hermione threatened not to go through with the marriage if he told me where they were staying."

I rolled my eyes and followed Harry into this great, big hall.

"Whoa!" I said. It was huge! National Quidditch Pitch huge. "You should've taken Dad with you to pick them up," I grinned. "He would've loved this!"

"I bet he would," Harry grinned back as he grabbed my hand and started to pull me through the different halls.

"They have shops here!" I exclaimed as we walked past an area with all kinds of shops.

"And restaurants and pubs and banks and many, many more," he smiled. "We have to go that way." He pointed in the opposite direction from where I wanted to go. "You can go shopping with Hermione when she isn't suffering from jet-lag anymore."

"I wasn't planning on entering that shop," I said indignantly.

Harry didn't say anything, but just gave me a look that clearly said that I couldn't fool him.

I sighed. "Well, maybe I just wanted to look at that dress…but I'll wait for Hermione…"

"Good," Harry grinned. "Cause we're late." He pushed a lock out of my face and let his hand linger. "I'm glad I decided to quit being a prat so I could confess everything to you."

"I'm glad I stopped being so stupidly idiotic and gave you a chance," I smiled.

"I'm glad about that too…" he said softly and he bowed his head down to mine when suddenly…

"HARRY POTTER!"

"Oh bugger!" Harry cringed muttering. "You didn't tell her either, did you?"

I just closed my eyes and waited for the blow that would erase this planet from its solar system to come, when I felt Harry lift his head and heard him say, "Welcome back, Hermione, Ron." As he moved his arm, I opened my eyes and saw Ron grin broadly.

"You prat!" I exclaimed immediately. "You knew and you didn't tell your wife?"

"I suspected it," Ron corrected me quickly, before Hermione could start on him. "You two were really close at the wedding." He turned to Harry. "So, you told her everything?"

Harry nodded.

"Absolutely everything?" Ron pushed.

"No more lies," Harry nodded again.

In the meantime, Hermione was eyeing this interaction suspiciously.

"What are you two talking about?" she said finally. "Ginny," she turned to me, "you didn't forgive him for cheating on you, did you?"

"What?" I said confused. "No! Harry didn't cheat. He was busy…"

"Let's go somewhere where we can talk," Ron interrupted me quickly as he looked at Hermione, who was growing more bewildered by the minute. He took her hand and led her to the train station where we would take the train to London. From there, we would Apparate to their home.

"You didn't tell her?" I hissed at Harry so Hermione and Ron wouldn't hear.

"I didn't tell anyone," Harry muttered back.

"Harry…"

"I know, Gin. I know. I just…" He sighed. "Hermione would have wanted me to tell you. And unlike Tonks or Ron, she would have succeeded in convincing me. And I know you don't agree, but at that moment, I didn't want you to know."

"And Ron?" I asked as I nodded to Ron who was carrying two large suitcases that looked very much as if they had been magicked quite a bit lighter.

"I asked him not to tell her. It took me some convincing and he's said quite often that I was digging my own grave, but he promised not to say anything. And apparently, he's kept that promise."

"That," I sighed, nodding to Ron and Hermione and shaking my head, "is going to be the shortest marriage ever known in wizarding Britain." I turned back to Harry. "And they will most certainly blame you."

Harry chuckled and squeezed my hand. "Wanna bet?"

* * *

Unfortunately and yet very predictably, I lost the bet. 

Ron had tricked me into helping him take the suitcases up, so Harry and Hermione could talk quietly.

"Why can't we go downstairs and grab a cup of tea?" I asked when Ron had stood in front of the door to keep me from going down to the kitchen to make a very well deserved pot of tea. I'd had practice that morning, went straight to the Ministry to pick Harry up, had to wait there because of the stupid fact that those buggering hearings always run late, went to the Muggle airport, took the train back to London, went to Ron and Hermione's place, took the luggage upstairs and now I wasn't even allowed tea!

"Ginny," Ron simply said.

"Alright," I sighed as I sat down on the bed. "They need some 'alone-time' to 'explain everything'." I turned to Ron. "Aren't you afraid that your wife may run off with the most eligible bachelor of the wizarding world?"

"He isn't eligible anymore," Ron smirked as he fell down next to me. "Help me remember that I never go on holiday without magic again."

I snorted. "I could have told you that before you went…in fact, I remember that I _did_ tell you that."

Ron closed his eyes. "I should have listened to you."

"Could have told you that too," I said cheekily and before I could do anything to prevent it, Ron had started tickling me.

"I listen to you!" he exclaimed over my loud laughs. "Take it back."

"Oh!" I tried to sound indignantly, but didn't succeed because of the laughter. "You stupid…" Tickle. "…buggering…" Another tickle and a 'Language!' from Ron. "…dearest prat!" Again, a tickle. "Brother. You didn't listen to me when I told you I was going to play Quidditch!"

"True," Ron admitted, all the while keeping me in headlock. Sod him and his Auror training!

"And you never took my feelings into consideration when you were bragging about how good Harry was doing with the Cannons."

"True again."

"And apparently you didn't listen to me when I told you a magic-free honeymoon was a bad idea." I felt a smirk appear on my face.

"You do know that you are at my mercy here, don't you?" Ron nodded to point at the lack of free space for me.

"You just didn't want to contradict your new wife," I said quickly, knowing that Ron would soon start to tickle me again. "You wanted to be in her good graces for whatever you two woul…oh ho!"

"What on earth is going on here?!?" Hermione and Harry came bursting into the room.

"I'm teaching my dearest sister a lesson in humility," Ron said and soon we were pounding on each other and running around the room.

Later, Harry would tell me that it was the most confusing thing he'd ever seen. There they had been (him trying to convince Hermione that what he'd done (not telling her anything…quite a big crime in Hermione's books) had been done for all the right reasons (protecting me) and her telling him that no matter what, he should have told her because she was his best friend) when all of a sudden a loud crash had sounded upstairs. (I still think he exaggerated that part a bit, since I'm pretty sure we didn't break anything.) So of course they rushed upstairs, trying to find out if their friends/husbands/girlfriends weren't hexing each other to bits…only to find us on the bed with me being held in a headlock by Ron. And when they asked for an explanation, Ron and I continued to fight even more.

But I didn't care. Because what had happened between Ron and me reminded me of how we used to be when we were little. Back then, we would start to fight when we couldn't agree on something. Back then, we were the best friends in the world and nothing could tear us apart. Back then…back then it'd changed when we left for Hogwarts. Ron got his own friends and there wasn't any place left for me when I too got to attend Hogwarts.

This fight (as useless and confusing as it may seem from the outside) turned out to be very important. Because from that moment on, Ron and I were each others confidant again…and the world was back in it's right place.

* * *

**A/N:** I won't promise anything, because I'll probably end up disappointing you... 


	25. Schade Deutschland!

**A/N: **Er well...there's this thing called 'real life' and er...mine has been quite hectic. So, I'm sorry. But this chapter is fairly long, so that's kind of my way of making it up to you.

I apologize to everybody with German roots. I don't have anything personally against them, it's just that in sports (and especially football (soccer)), the Netherlands and Germany are very competitive.

Oh, and someone reviewed with a question about how Durmstrang was supposed to admit only boys and Nina Tennfjord couldn't have attended it. I know that in the movies, Durmstrand is an all-boys school and Beauxbatons an all-girls school, but in GoF, at least Beauxbatons has both (Parvati and Padma leave Harry and Ron to go dance with Beauxbatons boys). Furthermore, it only says in the books that Durmstrang doesn't admit Muggle-borns...nothing about girls. So I might be terrible wrong, but as far as I know, girls attend Durmstrang too.

Now that I explained that, on with the story!

* * *

Schade Deutschland!

I got home from Ron and Hermione's only to find a note lying on the table:

_Hi Ginny!_

_I was hoping to find you at home, but I can't blame you for having a life besides Quidditch…or were you at practice?_

_Anyway, I'm playing Germany next week and I've got two spare tickets to the game. I really hope you can come, because we actually have a decent chance of trashing them for the first time in over a century! I'll put you on the VIP-list with a 'plus guest'-notion so you can come to the locker rooms afterwards._

_Hope to see you there!_

Love, Tammy 

I grabbed the _Prophet_ to look up the game schedule. Someone had already filled in the first few matches and that someone probably was Tammy. Whenever she got home, the first thing she did was grab the sports section of the _Prophet_ to get up to date with everything Quidditch. A laugh came out of my mouth when I saw that not only had she written the winning teams down (the U.S.A., Australia, Aruba and South Africa), but she had put the Netherlands down right up to the finals. And not only as a participant, but as the winner too! Next to it was a little stickman on a broom, flying around with a little text balloon that changed its contents every few seconds. Right now, it was saying '_Ginny doesn't have a clue!_', quickly followed with '_Don't look at me, look the game up!_', which was again erased for '_I'll be telling Tammy this, you just wait!_' with the stickman shaking its little fist. And then the text disappeared again, to be replaced with '_Has Hermione turned you into a…reader?_'. I really laughed out loud this time when the text changed back to '_Don't look at me, look the game up!_'.

Well, never ignore little stickmen is what I always say! So…the game between the Netherlands and Germany would take place in Germany while at the same time; Ireland would be playing France in Ireland. Getting an idea, I scanned the schedule again to see when England would play. Smiling, I saw that it was a few days later, against Italy in the latter's home country, together with Argentina versus Bulgaria in Argentina. That would mean I could easily ask Harry to come with me.

Just as I closed the paper to put it back down, I started to yawn. Perhaps I should catch up on some sleep before I asked him…

* * *

After having managed to escape from Gwenog's clutches after practice, I took a quick shower and Apparated to the National Team practice. 

"Good morning, Miss Weasley!" the entrance wizard took off his hat as he curtsied.

"It is indeed!" I replied happily as I walked past him.

"Practice is running late, Miss Weasley!" the entrance wizard called after me. "Mr Potter is still training!"

"Thank you!" I called back as I turned around with a smile, only to turn right back again and walk towards the pitch before I would do something Tonks-like and fall down.

And indeed, all of the team were still in the air, doing moves and tricks and turns. I couldn't help but smile as I saw Harry dive down and I quickly scanned the pitch to see what had grabbed his attention. He was back up in the air, holding a small golf ball in his hand. And Gwenog reckons _I_'m a good Seeker?

"Miss Weasley, right?" Next to me stood a witch with large sunglasses. Looking up at me expectantly, she pulled out a notebook and a quill.

"Who is asking?" I asked, not trusting this for one bit. Years of being around Harry Potter and later becoming a national Quidditch player have taught me at least that.

"Oh, that's of no importance," she smiled, waving the quill in her hand as if she was actually trying to wave my question away. "How is it to be known as Harry Potter's girlfriend?"

"Excuse me?" I said indignantly, turning around to position myself in front of her. How about Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies? How about that Little Red Wonder nickname they've given me? How about the fact that we've never officially stated that we were back together again!!!

"Well, you are, aren't you?" she said exasperatedly. "Didn't you two get back together again?"

So _that_ was what she wanted! "Who are you?" I repeated sharply.

She sighed deeply, put a charming yet unbelievably fake smile on her face and stuck out her hand. "I work for the _Prophet_," she said.

"Could you take your glasses off?" I asked, feeling more than a little rude, but still ignoring the hand she was offering me. Hey, I remember Skeeter! For all I knew, this could be her in disguise.

She took one look at me and then pulled her glasses off. "Nina Tennfjord, pleasure to meet you," she said. Again, her hand was out, ready to shake mine.

"No, you're not," I answered, yet again ignoring her hand. Tonks and Lupin were packing to go on a very well deserved holiday and besides, I've been to my fair share of public (and press-related) gatherings and I swear I recognized her face from one of those.

Right at that moment, she dropped all pretences of being nice. Her face turned unfriendly and she hissed, "And how would _you_ know? As if you've ever met her!"

"You just proved my point," I said calmly. "Now, what do you want?"

"What does Potter see in you?"

"Right," I nodded and turned back to watch the end of practice. The team had assembled themselves around the coach on the ground to receive the last few remarks before being released to shower up. Just a few more minutes and Harry would be by my side. Just a few more minutes and I wouldn't have to put up with that sorry excuse for a woman. Just a few more minutes…

"So how did you get past security?" I asked curiously. They were always very strict about letting people through, using various spells that would detect Polyjuice a mile away and disable glamour spells immediately.

"I'm a personal friend of the coach," she answered haughtily. Somehow, I very much doubted that.

"I see…" I said, noticing that the team was breaking up. Practice was over at last. "Look, it was wonderful to meet you, Miss 'I haven't told my name yet', but my boyfriend has finished practicing." Without waiting for a reply, I walked up to the team.

"Hey handsome," I said grinning, an idea forming in my mind.

"Hey gorgeous," I got as a reply.

"Wanna help me get some deluded reporters out of the way?"

Wood nodded with a grin on his face. Behind him, Harry shot me a confused look, but that disappeared when I smiled at him over Wood's shoulder. Then I grabbed Wood's hand so we could walk back together.

"Had a good practice?" I asked sweetly.

"It just got better," Wood grinned, not really knowing what was happening, but playing along anyway. "So…what brings you up here?"

"Spare tickets to the Netherlands/Germany game," I said. "Oh, and my very sweet and handsome boyfriend."

"Is he now?" Wood laughed.

The reporter witch was standing right in front of us. "You…" she stuttered. "Potter…"

"Goodbye," I said firmly, walking past her with Wood at my side.

When we were out of earshot and out of sight, Wood burst out in laughter. "Potter really knows how to pick his woman. That reporter has been nosing around for quite some time, trying to get Harry to confess you two are back together again. Usually he just avoids her, but you!" He sighed dramatically. "You are my new hero."

"You do know that's my girlfriend we're talking about, don't you?" Harry joined us good-humouredly.

"Hey," I kissed him softly as Wood told him that he didn't care and would start worshipping the ground I walked on if this would make it into the papers the next morning. That man seriously knows how to please one's ego!

"Go find Katie before she breaks up with you," Harry smiled while shaking his head at Oliver's antics. "You don't want her to find out about this affair you're having with _my_ _girlfriend_, might I add, through the paper, do you?"

"Good point," Wood nodded and he turned to me. "If he says 'no' for some unfathomable reason…I'll keep myself recommended."

"Just go," I laughed. "And take a shower!" I called after him and then turned to Harry while sniffing audibly. "You should think about doing that too."

"What would I say 'yes' to?" he asked after giving me another very sweaty kiss.

"Free tickets for the Netherlands/Germany game in Germany. Tammy left them."

"That's great!" he beamed. "Too bad I can't…Beutel got me some Germany seats this morning, I wanted to ask you."

"Bollocks," I said, not believing him for one bit.

He got a mischievous glint in his eyes and started to pull me towards the locker rooms. Before I realized what was going on, I was practically walking into Steve Norwood's chest.

"Hello there," he smiled a dazzling smile, apparently not caring at all that he was wearing nothing but a towel.

"She's taken, Norwood," Harry stated not unfriendly, but very clearly nonetheless. Norwood shrugged and walked into the showering area, just as Harry grabbed my hand again and took me to his locker. And without having to search for them, he pulled two tickets out of his robes.

"I promised Beutel," he shrugged. "I wanted to ask you to the game after practice."

"I promised Tammy," I answered. Then I got an idea, "Why don't you take Wood with you, he seemed eager to go. I'll just invite Fleur to come with me."

"You what?" Harry asked, looking at me as if I'd grown three heads.

"I'll ask Fleur, she's friends with Tammy," I repeated, not really understanding what he was getting at.

"You hate Fleur."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't." The tone in my voice got more stubborn.

"Yes. You. Do."

"No, I don't!"

"Okay team, I just…what is she doing here?" Glynnis Griffiths had entered the changing rooms.

"That's Potter's girl!" Norwood smirked.

"You're not on the team," Griffiths stated accusatorily.

"I was just leaving," I said hastily. I turned to Harry, gave him a quick peck on his lips, said, "I'll see you at home," and left before they would realize who I was and throw me out of the league.

* * *

Fleur surprisingly agreed to go with me to the game when I asked her. 

"Zhis is so exciting!" she beamed. "Bill has to work and it gets so lonely wizhout him…"

"Er…all right," I said before she would go on with details I'd rather not know about my brother. "Are you certain you can Apparate with the baby and everything?"

"Pfsh!" she waved my comment away. "Zhis little girl will not come out for anozher two months. I will come wizh you to see Tammy."

"It's in Germany," I said, starting to regret asking her. Maybe I should've asked Hermione instead. She likes Quidditch…sometimes…

She scrunched up her nose, but still said, "I can survive bratwurst and beer. Just don't get anything near me."

I wondered if they would serve bratwurst and beer up in the V.I.P.-lodge, but kept my mouth shut.

"Shall I come to your place?" Fleur smiled. "It is closer to the International Apparition Point…I will come at nine o'clock, so we will not be late." Then she caught me staring at her. "What?" she said.

"Since when are you so eager to hang out with me that you'd even go to a Quidditch match with me?"

"You're Bill's favourite sister," she said simply. "And one of my best friends is playing zhat match." The look on her face turned into a genuine smile. "You will have to explain everyzhing to me, zhough…"

"I can do that," I smiled back. "I can do that."

And that was why, a week later, I was standing in line with the other Quidditch fanatics and Fleur, waiting for the gates to open.

"I'm pregnant!" Fleur huffed amidst all the Dutch being spoken around us. "Can't zhese baffoons see zhat?" She stood on her toes to look over the mob of people. "And I'm zhe best friend of one of zhe Seekers. Zhat should be important too, _non_?"

Where was Harry when you needed him? I mean, what good is it to have a famous boyfriend when you can't make any use of his fame?!? Fleur gave a deep sigh, a sure sign that she was about to complain again. "Let me see the tickets," I said before she could start. "Maybe we're at the wrong place." Tammy did give us V.I.P.-tickets, didn't she?

Fleur sighed again and dug her hand in her purse only to come out with the two tickets.

_Nederland – Duitsland_

_8ste finale van het Zwerkbal Wereldkampioenschap_

_Plaats: Prüm, Duitsland_

_Tijd: 13.15 uur_

_**V.I.P.** Ingang aan de noordkant, bij de teams._

Even with my pathetic knowledge of Dutch (i.e. none whatsoever), I could understand that we were at the right place and time. But what in Merlin's greasy grey beard was written next to that V.I.P. bit???

"Excuse me," I tapped a wizard in front of me on his shoulder.

"_Ja_?" he said, "I mean, yes?"

"My friend here, she's pregnant," I said, pointing at an obviously very pregnant Fleur. "And well, she needs to go to the loo." He looked confused. "Toilet, you know?" At this, he nodded, not noticing the murderous looks Fleur was giving me. "She feels a bit uncomfortable cutting the line, but you see, we're friends with Tammy Romeijn and she gave us these V.I.P.-tickets, but well, they're in Dutch…"

"You would like me to translate them?" he smiled helpfully.

"Yes please," I said gratefully.

He looked down at my ticket and started to laugh. "You have to be at the north side of the stadium, near the entrances for the teams. This here is the south entrance." As to explain his point, he showed his own ticket, only to pull it back again as he realized I couldn't understand Dutch.

"Thank you," I said and I wanted to leave the line with Fleur when he continued, "Are you going to support Holland?"

"Er yes," I answered. "Why?"

"You may want to change some of your clothes into orange," he smiled, "But your hair looks nice too."

Wait…what? He thinks I dyed my hair for this? I opened my mouth to tell him that this was my natural colour when…

"Gin, what are you doing here?"

Mr Helpful Wizard looked completely baffled as he managed to tuck on the robes of his friend as to get his attention.

Harry 'I-can-get-anyone's-attention' Potter had arrived.

"Asking for directions," I said. "And leaving."

"Hey Fleur," Harry smiled to Fleur, but then he turned back to the Dutch wizard and me and started to glare at him.

"Are you…" the wizard asked.

"Harry Potter, pleasure to meet you. Gin, the V.I.P. entrance is at the other side."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "Didn't figure that out yet. Where's Wood?"

"Getting drinks." He looked back at the small group of Dutch fans that had gathered by now.

This seemed to get that helpful wizard's attention. "Could I have your autograph?"

"Er…" Harry hesitated.

"Of course," I answered. "As a thank you."

"Here," Fleur held up a piece of parchment and a quill.

Five minutes and 17 autographs later we were walking around the stadium to the right entrance. Fleur was complaining about the lack of hospitality in this country and how they could manage to live with themselves, knowing that a pregnant woman had been standing in the cold for hours.

"Oh _merde_!" she muttered at last, "I really have to go to zhe toilet." And suddenly she was running away from us, towards the entrance.

"Hours?" Harry asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"Forty-five minutes," I sighed. "You know how Phlegm…"

"I knew it!" Harry exclaimed triumphantly. "You can't stand her."

"I…" I started to protest, but really, what use was it… "I try! But she's just so _Phlegm_ and expects everyone to dance on their toes around her and I just want to hex her until I realize she's carrying my unborn nephew…"

"I thought it was going to be a girl," Harry said, confused.

"As if!" I snorted. "A _Weasley_ girl? That's never going to happen."

Harry gave me one of his looks, this one clearly to be meaning that I was very wrong. "Bugger, Harry! I'm mad! I don't think clearly when I'm mad!"

"I noticed," he smiled, taking my hand in his. "But you're doing a very good job of putting up with her."

"I have to," I said softly as I nudged him playfully. "For some reason, Bill loves her more than anything in this world."

We reached the entrance where Fleur was arguing with the guardwizard to let her enter. And to give her credit, he was actually looking intimidated.

"Let's give her a hand, shall we?" Harry softly spoke in my ear.

"Let's wait until she turns her charm on," I grinned back.

Harry looked back at me, opening his mouth to say something when the guardwizard started to look glazy at Fleur. We could hear him say, "Just the toilets, all right Miss?"

"Mrs," Fleur huffed haughtily as she walked past the guardwizard.

He followed her with his eyes and it took us quite a few nudges for him to turn his attention to us.

"She's with me," I smiled, handing him both tickets.

"Do you have her address or something? Anything?" he asked eagerly.

I managed to keep a disgusted look from my face (although Harry was looking quite knowingly at me) as I said, "She's married to my brother."

"No address?" he said dejectedly, turning to Harry. "_Verdammt_! You're Harry Potter!"

"I should have just Apparated into the V.I.P.-lounge," I heard him mutter just before he put on a big smile and answered, "Yes, I am. I suppose you would like an autograph?"

"Lockhart!" I coughed, earning a glare from Harry. But he wrote his autograph on the last bit of parchment he had, and the guardwizard happily gave us directions as to where to find our respective seats.

Apparently he'd forgotten all about Fleur.

* * *

It's almost scary what the Dutch do when supporting their country. I've never seen so much orange in one place…and I grew up in a family of redheads with Ron being the biggest Chudley Cannons-fan that ever existed. 

Faces had been painted orange, hair had been dyed orange (or orange wigs had been pulled out of closets), orange robes and Quidditch uniforms were on every witch and wizard and flags, rosettes and banners coloured the little bits that weren't orange yet, orange.

"_Ah oui_!" Fleur pulled out her wand with a flourish and before I could hide, every single part of my body had been covered in orange fluff.

"Thanks Fleur," I said sarcastically, pulling out my wand too. "But you're looking a bit bland without some orange."

"I don't do orange," Fleur looked horrified. "It clashes horribly!"

I wasn't even finished yet when a giant wizard came up behind Fleur and started to laugh at her.

"Hey!" We both said indignantly as she turned around and I looked up. The next thing I knew was that she had jumped into his arms and was chatting happily in French.

It took me a few minutes before I realized that I was being left out since I really still can't understand a single syllable of French. So I flicked my wand once again and turned Fleur's hair orange.

"Ginevra!" she exclaimed, turning away from the giant. "I refuse to look like a…a…fox!"

"Excuse me!" I said, starting to feel offended. "How do you think I'm feeling right now?" Honestly, I _hate_ orange!

The wizard started to laugh really hard and stuck his hand out, "I'm Wouter Romeijn, really pleased to meet you. Anyone that has the nerve to stand up to Fleur Delacour is my hero."

"Ginny Weasley," I shook his hand. "Fleur's my sister-in-law."

"You're Tamar's teammate," he smiled. "I'm her brother."

Wait, what? Tammy's got a brother? Since when? I looked at him in absolute astonishment as Fleur continued her conversation with him. She was looking very much un-Phlegm-like with her pregnant belly and dressed up in everything orange and I realized that I actually liked having her here.

"Hey Fleur," I said after a while. "The game's starting…want me to tell you what's happening?"

* * *

The Dutch beat the Germans with sixty to two-hundred-and-seventy. Not only did they have much better Chasers, but Tammy played as never before. They probably would have won with a much smaller difference, were it not for the fact that the Snitch didn't show. Tammy caught it within minutes of its appearance on the pitch. 

Jumping up and down happily, Fleur, Wouter and I walked down to the changing rooms to congratulate Tammy on her win when Fleur turned green and bolted into the nearest loo. After assuring us that everything was alright and that she'd just Apparate home and congratulate Tammy later, Wouter and I left her and went to find Tammy.

"Well done, Tammy!" I yelled when I saw her.

Tammy grinned and held up the Snitch she caught. When we caught up with her, she hugged me fiercely. "I'm so glad you came!" she said. "Come, let's go somewhere these reporters can't find us!"

Laughing, I followed her through the crowd, into the building. Wouter was right behind us, laughing and talking happily with everyone. Everywhere, people were standing, congratulating Tammy as she passed by. Suddenly, she put her hand with the Snitch in it up in the air and said in a singsong voice, „_Schade Deutschland, alles ist vorbei!_" (1)

„_Ja, ja, sehr gut gespielt,_" (2) I heard Beutel, that bloke from Harry's team (the one that thought I was called _Virginia_...) say. He didn't look very happy…mind you, he just got kicked out of the running to the World Cup.

„_Wie immer,_" (3) Tammy smiled, apparently not really caring how the poor man felt.

„_Dafür haben wir das Endspiel in England nicht verloren._" (4) He was looking a bit smugger right now...

„_Aber wir können die __Quidditch-Weltmeisterschaft noch siegen,_" (5) Tammy smirked.

„_Gewinnen,_" he smiled back as if he was correcting her. „_Du solltest lernen, Deutsch zu sprechen, meine liebe Tamar._" (6)

„_Ich bin nicht deine Liebe,_" Tammy stuck her tongue out and walked happily away, arms locked with her brother, from the headshaking Chaser, both all the while singing, „_Schade Deutschland, alles ist vorbei, alles ist vorbei, alles ist vorbei. Schade Deutschland, alles ist vorbei._" (7)

"I pity you, Little Red Wonder," he sighed. "You have to live with her…" And with that, he too left…leaving me behind to run quickly after Tammy before she would be gone and I wouldn't be able to find her.

"You speak German too?!?" I said incredulously when I found them.

"Nah," she shrugged. "Just a few words. Every Dutch person can speak German if they just put the right accent to it. German people understand." Then she started to grin, "We got into the quarter finals!"

"I know," I said, more than mildly impressed.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I translated the German bits. To quote Tammy, _'Every Dutch person can speak German if they just put the right accent to it.'_ So I apologize if my grammar isn't good... 

**A/N 2:** Well...er...my German is...er...really, really bad. Thank you so much _SeriousScribble_ for correcting me!

1 "Sorry Germany, everything's over now!"

2 "Yes, yes, well done."

3 "As always."

4 "But we didn't lose the finals in England."

5 "But we can still prevail the Quidditch World Cup Finals."

6 "Win." "You should learn how to speak German, my dear Tamar."

7 "I'm not your dear." "Sorry Germany, everything's over now! Everything's over now! Everything's over now! Sorry Germany, everything's over now!"


	26. The Romilda Vane Conspiracy

**A/N:** _gasps_...No...it couldn't be...an update without having to be reminded that I should update? Anyway, thank you all for reviewing and thank you, KD, for betaing this.

I hope you like it...

* * *

The Romilda Vane Conspiracy

It's funny how the lives of Quidditch stars and their significant others are very much alike. For a starter, say you're playing Quidditch…you have to attend practices because that is what you do. They drain all your energy out of you, and at the end the coach will tell you that you can do so much better. So you go home to talk to your friends about the terrible day you've had. But watch out! Most of your friends play the beautiful game too and most of them will probably be part of the other teams. Teams you want to keep your tactics secret from, teams that will not hesitate to use your tactics or come up with diversionary tactics. So, even though your greatest desire is to unwind from your tough day, you won't be able to do it in front of your friends in order to keep your secrets safe until the game.

Because that's the next step: the game. It's just like practice, only this time it's for real. The other team is not the reserve players that try to prove they can be first string too. No, the other team is a team that's bound on winning the game to get further into the League or closer to the World Cup and the only way is by beating you. You try your best not to let them win, score the most goals and pray their Seeker is worse than yours. Because no matter how many goals you make, if the Snitch shows too soon, all your efforts will be worthless…

Then again, let's say you win. A press conference will be held afterwards, and (no matter how tired and sweaty you are) you have to be there to tell everybody that you didn't expect this at all. That you'd worked for it, but it always depends on multiple factors and all that kind of dragon dung. And when that's over, you get to take your shower, only to rush to a charity function to help the war orphans.

Finally, your day is over and you can go to sleep, only to get up early in the morning to go to yet another practice…

As a Quidditch star's significant other, you're expected to show up at practices. As already stated, practices can be hell and you're supposed to support your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/anything that isn't a one-night-stand. What everybody fails to mention is that watching practices is more boring than waiting for a Flobberworm to finish eating its lettuce. Sure, it's fun when they play a little scrimmage against the second stringers (or first stringers if your significant other is playing second string). But most practices consist of doing the same trick over and over again until the players are worn out and don't want to (or aren't able to) do anything else. And you'll be the one to cheer them up after the coaches just told them their game is pure rubbish. You'll be the one they'll want to talk to because they can't say anything to their friends (just like you, by the way…you're supposed to keep all their secrets, no matter how much or how little you know of them).

And then there's the game. The good part is that it will be interesting (or, when it isn't, it will most likely be short). But after 12 League games, 17 friendly matches and (if your significant other has the privilege to play for his or her country) 20 eliminating games to place themselves for the 8 games of the World Cup, not counting the 20-odd friendly international games and all of which you're expected to attend…you would eat a Hippogriff just to get out of one.

However, you can of course get out of attending practices by getting a job and your fellow significant others will respect you so much for that. But…when you manage to attend a game or a practice, they will form cliques and shut you out. They respect you, but they envy you more because you had the common sense to stay with your job.

Still, if you try really hard, they'll acknowledge you and talk to you…something you'll be very grateful for once you have to attend press conferences and charity events and whatever. You'll be glad to have anyone else to talk to besides your Quidditch star whatever he or she may be to you. Because the press will want to talk to him or her. His or her opponents will want to talk. And his or her fellow Quidditch stars definitely will want to talk.

And when you finally get to bed, your significant other is far too tired to do anything besides sleep, so you decide to talk to him or her about everything the following day…only to realize he or she has left very early for practice.

My average day consists of both. Some say I'm lucky because I already am part of the Quidditch world and therefore know people at the different functions and matches. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't really get to _see_ Harry. He's up in the air while I'm in the stands (or I'm up in the air while he's in the stands). And it certainly doesn't change the fact that my next practice was scheduled at the same time as Harry's match against Italy. So, I rallied up all the courage I had (hey, I wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing!) and went to see Gwenog just before practice started.

"Gwenog," I said. Gwenog just grunted and didn't even try to tear her eyes away from the pieces of parchment she was looking at. So I continued, "I can't come to next practice. I would like a day off."

"No," Gwenog said, again without looking up.

"What!" I exclaimed. "Gwenog!"

This made Gwenog look up. "Yes Miss Weasley, please enlighten us as to why you will not be able to make it to next practice."

"Harry will be playing Italy in Italy," I said.

"And these are…what…the eighth finals?"

"Well, yes…"

"And you can't just not go and instead attend the next one?"

"I could, but it's not certain if they will make it. They have to win, you know." I was getting frustrated. "Come on, Gwenog! You know this world! I _have_ to be there!"

She sighed and put all the scattered bits of parchment back on one pile. "I would have to put Robbins in."

"She has gotten better," I said, knowing that I was getting close now. "And it's just one practice."

"Do you know when the next match will be?"

Oh bugger! Oh bollocking, buggering bollocks!

"You will not be part of the base if you take that practice off. That's team policy: _if a player doesn't show up for the last practice, she gives up her right to be in the base_. No matter how good she is."

"I really must go watch Harry. It's just…I'm his girlfriend…that's how the rules of this world are."

"Are you certain?"

Even though I was getting close to her agreeing I could take practice off, I somehow felt guiltier than ever. How on earth does she manage to do that? Still, I really needed to go to Harry's game and I reckoned that even Robbins wouldn't be able to do that much harm in the half an hour I wasn't allowed to play in the match. "I definitely am," I therefore said.

She sighed again and stood up. "Don't blame me if we lose the match…you can go see that boyfriend of yours."

I managed to hold back a snort. So now he was 'that boyfriend of mine'? "Thanks, Gwenog!"

She looked up at me with such hostility in her eyes that I smiled weakly and hurried quickly out of her office. I may play the most dangerous position there is in Quidditch, but I value my life enough to get out of Gwenog's way when she's like that.

* * *

What I didn't tell Gwenog was that Harry actually had no clue that I would go see his game. He'd told me various times that practice was important and that I should use my days off when I really would need them (his exact words were 'when you're too sick to stay on your broom', but who needs their health anyway?). 

That was also most probably the reason why I woke up that Saturday morning from a tapping sound at my window. Knowing fully well that I had to get up to open the window for the owl seeing as how Tammy was still travelling around to practice for her next match, I threw the covers off before I lost my courage of embracing the cold.

Yes, definitely too cold this early in the morning. I quickly Summoned Mum's latest addition to my vastly growing jumper collection and put it on. Then I saw whose owl it was…

"Hey girl," I cooed, beaming, standing up and opening the window for her. In one swift and somewhat regal motion, she dropped the letter in my hand and flew towards the kitchen.

Rolling my eyes at the fact that Harry most likely forgot to feed her before he sent her out, I followed her, opening the letter as I walked.

_Hey Gin!_

_Has Gwenog killed you yet for not doing a Wronski Feint?_

I glared at the bit of parchment. Just because he pulled off a Wronski Feint every now and then didn't mean I had to! A soft brush of my legs distracted me and I saw Snuffles enter the kitchen, obviously wanting to be fed. So I let out a deep sigh and started to make breakfast for the three of us while Snuffles and Hedwig were chasing each other around the kitchen in a somewhat playful way. Not bothering to call them back (it's no use, really…they do it every time they're together) I put Snuffles' bowl down on the floor, put some pieces of bacon on a plate for Hedwig and made myself a plate with the rest of the food.

As it quieted down around me, I turned back to the letter and continued,

_Just kidding! You're one of the best players I've ever seen._

I couldn't help but snort. Of course he has to say that, he's my boyfriend!

_Italy's great and the weather is absolutely perfect, but I would rather be back in Wales. Sitting in the stands while it rains so I can watch you practice. When I told this to Wood, I was certain he was going to kill me. Really, I don't know what Katie sees in him!_

_I'll be back in London two days after the match ends. I really hope it doesn't last long…yes, I know, I know! I'm the main factor in that decision…it's just…I miss you…our lives are far too busy right now. But you do your thing, and I will do my thing and I really hope I'll see you Monday evening._

_Love,_

_Harry_

_p.s. Kick Gwenog's arse so she'll shut up on you being a Seeker once and for all, alright?_

I bit my lip with a smile, grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick, '_Break the record. Love, Ginny_' and handed it to Hedwig. She started to hoot and affectionately pecked my finger, but stayed still long enough for me to attach the letter. "Give Harry a kiss from me, will you?" She grabbed the last piece of bacon I hadn't yet eaten and flew off. Next to me, Snuffles put his head on my lap and I started to stroke his head absentmindedly. "Your master is just…something…"

* * *

At nine o'clock I entered the Leaky Cauldron. Ever since the end of the war it had started to fill more and more and although the real rush would start in August, just before term started, Tom was busy pouring drinks for everyone. 

"Hello Miss Weasley," he greeted me. "You'll have to wait for a table."

"That's okay," I smiled. "I'm just meeting…oh, hey Katie!"

Katie walked up to us with a smile on her face.

"A table for two will be even more difficult," Tom said thoughtfully.

"It really is okay, Tom," I smiled again. "We are going to see the match in Italy."

"Going to support Harry, are you? Well, give him my regards." And with that, he went back to his work.

"Ready?" Katie asked.

I nodded. "Thanks for taking me with you."

Katie grinned. "He still doesn't suspect anything?"

"As far as I know, he doesn't," I grinned back. "Of course, it helps that he's invited Ron and Hermione…so no one will notice my absence."

We arrived at the International Apparition Point and Katie handed me my ticket with the Apparition instructions. The next moment we stood in front of the Italian National Quidditch Pitch…affectionately known as the _Coliseum_.

"The one in Rome is a copy of this one," Katie came up next to me. "Of course, the city wasn't large enough so they sized it down a bit so it could fit. Let's go inside."

"How do you know this?" I asked, following her inside and showing the entrancewitch my ticket.

"Oliver," she said simply. "Oh and speaking of my boyfriend…what is it with that torrid affair you two are having?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Just our way of getting rid of annoying reporters that want to find out whether Harry and I are back together again or not."

"And you needed Oliver why?" Katie asked.

"Because he could laugh along with the joke?" I tried with a shrug.

"Well, it's nice to know one of my friends is desperately going after my boyfriend," she smiled. Thank Merlin! She's okay with it.

We walked towards the V.I.P.-lounge as the team wasn't allowed to see anyone except each other when a very familiar voice reached our ears.

"I have to get back," Harry's voice sounded impatient, as if the person he was talking to had made a habit out of stalking him.

"Can't a girl give you a good-luck kiss?" a feminine voice said seductively. My eyes grew wide and Katie had to pull me back to keep me from barging over there. How _dare_ she?

"Kaylee, I've told you this millions of times…I have a girlfriend. And right now, I have to prepare for the match."

"But she's not here, is she?"

"Does that matter?" I couldn't help a triumphant smile from appearing on my face as Harry continued, "She is the most beautiful, amazing, powerful witch I've ever had the chance to know. I know how it feels to be apart from her and that was my own stubborn, idiotic fault. I've known her since I was eleven and I love her. So stop stalking me and go cheer on your brother. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a match to win."

I wanted nothing more than to catch up with Harry, but he was already out of sight when I got into the corridor where a woman with long, golden-blond hair was standing. And as she turned around, I didn't understand how Harry could have called me the most beautiful witch he'd ever known in her face. She was far more beautiful than I'd ever be…

"Hi," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed even though she'd just been brushed off by my boyfriend.

"Can I help you?" she asked impatiently.

"You wouldn't know where the V.I.P.-lounge is, would you?" Talk about a lame come-back…

"There you are, Ginny!" Katie appeared in the corridor. "Come, we have to go before you bump into Harry and ruin the surprise. Can you imagine the look on his face?" She looked up to Kaylee. "Oh, hello Kaylee. How's Steve? Is he fit to play or are they going to keep him out of the match so he'll be up to play next time?"

"My brother is fine," she said, her voice so cold it could have frozen us all to our spots. "Excuse me, I have to meet the rest of the families."

"Ignore her," Katie muttered once Kaylee was out of sight. "She's tried to get her hands on every man on the team. Her brother's okay, though. It really is a shame if he doesn't play today…"

Remembering that it was that same brother that had bumped into me half-naked a few weeks earlier, I looked at her sceptically but said nothing. Together we walked to the V.I.P.-lounge where Catriona McCormack greeted us merrily, as at the other end of the room, Kaylee was shooting me disdainful looks. I ignored them the moment Ron and Hermione stepped into the room.

"Mrs Weasley!" I exclaimed, feigning shock. "What on earth are you doing here? Surely you're not enjoying the art that is Quidditch!"

"Hello Ginny," Hermione smiled.

"Ginny?" Ron turned his head. "But practice! Harry told us you couldn't make it!"

"Well, apparently, I could," I answered.

"Ah, I see," Ron grinned. "You've decided to turn your back on Gwenog after all the bugging she's been doing. Smart move, sis, smart move."

I rolled my eyes, gave him a playful shove and turned back to Katie when a voice boomed through the lounge, announcing the beginning of the match. The Italian team flew out on the pitch, soon followed by the English team.

"Wood's playing?" I turned to Katie incredulously. She beamed and turned back to the game. "Meaghan got injured by the same Bludger that got to Steve."

A fierce whistle sounded and they were off.

"Pazi is off with the Quaffle," It was custom to translate the commentary in the V.I.P.-lounges to the original language and I couldn't be more grateful. My Italian was about as good as my French… "A quick pass to Furlan and she's off to Wood. Oh! Look at that magnificent manoeuvre from Trista Hodges! Italy doesn't know what hit them! A very nicely executed pass to Deforest and he shoots back to her with a good…YES! Ten to nil for England!"

Below us, Rachel could be heard cheering loudly for her sister and I couldn't help but laugh.

"And look at Potter go!" the commentator exclaimed suddenly. "Dare I say…could it be…the Snitch?"

Everybody turned to see what Harry was doing when suddenly, before I realized it, Harry was kissing me. So much for not letting the wizarding world know we got back together!

Next to me, Katie was laughing really hard, Hermione was trying to hide a smile and Ron was looking away in what he clearly thought was an inconspicuous way.

"You came," Harry beamed.

"Of course," I smiled.

Somewhere underneath us, an angry voice boomed upwards, "Potter! This is a match! Get your head back in the game and stop fooling around with that girlfriend of yours!"

"Griffiths…" Harry sighed.

I felt the blood leave my face. "You should go back before she comes up to get you."

A laugh erupted out of Harry's mouth and after a small peck he flew back into the game.

"…really a catch!" the commentator continued. "That's Miss Ginevra Weasley, _gente_! Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies and current girlfriend of the boy who lived."

I groaned while Katie burst out in laughter again and Hermione really wasn't able to keep the grin from her face. Ron looked offended for some reason.

* * *

"That's a foul!" Ron exclaimed next to me. The match had been going on for five hours already and the score was two-hundred-and-forty to a hundred-and-ninety for Italy and the Snitch had showed itself sixteen times. Sixteen bloody times and neither Harry nor Serafina Bianchi had even gotten close to catching the Snitch. Every time they set off in a chase, a Bludger followed them (shot at them by either Steve (yes, he was playing) or Kathryn Parish or one of the Italian Beaters). And every time it resulted in them breaking apart and off the chase in order to avoid getting chucked off their brooms. 

"Oh come on!" Ron continued heatedly to Hermione, "That was such an obvious display of Blatching! You saw it, didn't you?"

Hermione put one hand on Ron's arm and smiled, "Yes Ron, I did."

But he was right. Pietro Pazi had been flying full speed right behind Odilia Furlan (who was trying to score) towards Wood in order to knock him off his broom. And by the looks of it, he had succeeded too.

A mediwizard had rushed up there to see to Wood, who was shaking his head furiously. Whether this meant he was all right or not was impossible to see.

Katie snorted. "He wants to stay up in the air! Can you believe it? The fool!"

And indeed… "It looks as though Pazi has done more damage than we thought!" The commentator said. "The mediwizard wants Wood out of the game but…he refuses?"

I couldn't help but laugh and noticed that even Katie was sniggering.

"The mediwizard is talking to the referee," the commentator continued. "It looks as if he's trying to get Wood banned for a few games. Oh, Wood is going down and Rachel Hodges is preparing to take his place. This will be her first international game as Meaghan McCormack has always filled first position. The few moments she couldn't play, Oliver Wood took her place. But with both established international Keepers out of the running, Hodges will have a chance to prove she's gotten on the team for a reason and not, as speculation is running high, because her sister has been on the team the last decade."

Rachel was looking as if the world was at her feet and took her position in front of the goal hoops.

"And the Quaffle is back in the game as Cobley takes a penalty for England in response to Pazi's Blatching. There's the whistle and the score's up to two hundred for England to two-hundred-and-forty for Italy! And the game's back on."

Italy reacted immediately with a quick attack to surprise Rachel. But the Broadmoor brothers hadn't chosen Rachel because she just looked nice. Without hesitation she flipped at the last moment towards the Quaffle and caught it.

"She caught it!" the commentator said, sounding heavily impressed. "And she throws the Quaffle back to her sis…wait, what is Potter doing? It looks…no, he is not feinting and Bianchi has hesitated to follow him! She is racing after him and look at Caruso and Oriolo! They're trying to get to the Bludgers. Oh no! Potter is getting closer. No! He's caught the Snitch! Italy is out of the running as his catch makes the score go from two hundred to two-hundred-and-forty up to three-hundred-and-fifty to two-hundred-and-forty. England beats Italy out of the running for the World Cup with a difference of a hundred-and-ten points."

Ron was twirling Hermione around and Katie and I were hugging each other happily. They'd won! They were through to the quarterfinals!

"I'm going to find Harry!" I beamed at her. "I have to congratulate him. That was some awesome play!" I looked at my brother and sister-in-law, wondering whether I should ask them to come too. But Ron was far too engrossed in celebrating with Hermione in a way that would scar me forever if I didn't leave soon.

"I'll go with you," Katie laughed, pulling me with her towards the locker rooms. Celebration was running high, and the closer we got to the team the more people were partying.

"Katie!" one of the reserve beaters beckoned her towards the other side of the corridor.

"Come," she nodded, moving towards him.

"Gin!" Harry was running towards me and engulfed me in a hug before I could even realize it. He kissed me and beamed as we broke apart. "You are the most stubborn woman I've ever met."

"I know," I stated smugly. "Although I won't be allowed to play the first part of the next match…"

"Gin…" Harry started, but I was faster.

"It doesn't matter," I smiled. "You won." And then I remembered what I'd heard before the match… "I heard what you said to Steve's sister…" I said softly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "She reminds me of Romilda Vane."

I started to laugh and hugged Harry happily. "I _knew_ there was a reason why I fell in love with you!" I sniggered. "Romilda Vane…"

"I swear!" Harry exclaimed, taking my hand and walking towards the exit and straight to where Ron and Hermione would be waiting. "I don't know what or who to trust anymore! For all we know she might be spiking Chocolate Cauldrons with love potions! It wouldn't surprise me if those two are exchanging tactics as a part of some kind of…I dunno…Romilda Vane Conspiracy!"

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut it."

* * *

**A/N:** _dances a happy dance_


	27. She didn't!

**A/N:** Didn't expect an update this soon, did you? And you know what? Next chapter is almost finished and will be...the...last...one...

_shock_

Yes, you read correctly. It's almost over! So while we're at it, I reckon a big 'thank you' should be in order to all my readers, all my reviewers and especially KD for being my beta.

Oh, and just for the record...I do not own anything you recognize. Anything.

* * *

She didn't!

I realized how stupid my decision to watch Harry play instead of going to practice was once I was sitting in the dugout with Tamzin. She'd been hit with a Bludger during that particular practice and Gwenog had decided to put Joana Daley, a new recruit, in.

"Please hit me next time I want to ask Gwenog for a practice off," I groaned, letting my head fall in my arms as Robbins followed the Wasps' Seeker into a steep dive while the Snitch was nowhere in sight.

Tamzin sniggered, but said nothing.

"Joana, stay in the scoring area!" I heard Gwenog yell.

"Oh bugger, we're going to lose…" I muttered. "I hereby give you permission to hit me if I even come _close_ to accepting any other position besides Chasing."

"That would be a pity," Tamzin shrugged, a small smile on her face.

I looked at her, silently asking her to elaborate…which she thankfully did… "You're a pretty decent Seeker. I've seen better, but I've most definitely seen worse. I don't understand why you keep denying it."

"I hate Seeking?" I offered. The look on her face told me she didn't believe me. "Alright, I hate the fact that everybody thinks I'm only Seeking because Harry is. And I really love Chasing more."

We sat in silence as Joana moved too far from the goal hoops and let a goal pass.

"I never told you I used to Chase, did I?" Tamzin said after a while.

I turned my head so fast that I strained a muscle. Massaging my neck with one hand, I listened as she continued, "When I tried out for the Braga Broomfleet, I wanted to get the Chasing position they offered. I'd always been Chasing and it only seemed natural for me to continue. The coach gave me one look, said I didn't belong there and sent me over to the Keepers so I could try out with them. Needless to say, I was furious! How dare he! I wanted to leave there and then, but something kept me…and I've thanked that something every day since.

The try-outs could have gone smoother, but I knew all the Chaser tricks by heart. I saw them coming long before the other candidates and although I didn't stop everything, I stopped enough to get the reserve position." She turned to me, "And now I'm first reserve for the Harpies and Abbey is talking to several managers about the possibility for me to switch teams. Don't worry," she added hastily, noticing the look on my face, "I'm not saying that you'll do the same thing and become a prodigy Seeker or something…it's just…you're good, Ginny. Don't forget that."

I turned the frown on my face into a smile. "Thanks!"

"Don't mention it," she shrugged, together with Gwenog's yell that was supposed to mean something along the lines of Joana having to stay in the scoring area. The match had already been going on for almost half an hour and I knew Gwenog would schedule a time-out so I could join them. And indeed, Gwenog was looking at the Quaffle with more intensity than a Beater should. Very quickly, she turned her head to me as if to tell me to prepare, and then turned her attention back to the game.

"Good luck!" Tamzin smiled encouragingly. "Oh, Joana!"

"She _didn't_!" I exclaimed, looking at what was happening in the air.

"Apparently, she _did_," Tamzin muttered, amazed.

The commentator was yelling (which was quite unnecessary with the Sonorus Spell in place), Gwenog was looking as if a Blood-Sucking Bugbear had attacked her, Meredith was doing her very best (and failing miserably) to not fall off her broom from laughter, Joana was looking at the Quaffle in her hands in shock and in the middle of all that, Robbins was holding the Snitch in her outstretched hand.

"The Harpies win with a hundred-and-ninety to a hundred-and-ten in one of their more surprising games." I finally managed to understand the commentator.

"She caught the Snitch!" Tamzin flung her arms around my shoulders while I was still trying to process everything. "She saved us all from a terrible defeat!"

"Yeah…" was all I could say, not really sure what I should be thinking…

Wait, would this mean that I could go back to being a Chaser? Because that would actually be a good thing!

* * *

Gwenog decided to take the safe path and kept me as first Seeker…well, after Tammy then. But since Tammy was engaged in a three-day (and counting) match against Ireland in Bulgaria, the odds weren't looking good for her to return in time for the next match. Especially since both sides were evenly matched.

I wanted to go see her match, but she sent me an owl, apologizing for the fact that she'd already asked other people seeing how I would have practices to attend and games to play. She didn't know I had been banned from it for the first thirty minutes…

In the meantime, preparations were running high for Harry's next match, as it would be in England for once. He had managed to get us all free tickets and was awaiting an owl about it, so that was why Hermione, Ron and I were at the Burrow, collecting all the answers from our relatives.

Not that we minded…Mum had just treated us to one of her finest dinners and we were sitting contentedly around the kitchen table, discussing everyone's reaction.

"George asks for two as he will be taking someone," Ron read out loud. "Where did he find someone stupid enough to date him?"

Hermione smacked him on the head with her quill and then wrote it down on a piece of parchment.

"Well, Mum and Dad would love to come, but they promised to look after Auntie Muriel," I sighed. "Dad awaits a Floo-call every bloody minute of the day. And Percy's caught up at the Ministry…"

"And Bill and Fleur?" Ron asked.

"Well _Phlegm_…" I smirked, "is four days late. Apparently, she's been cleaning their house through and through, so that even Mum is afraid the Burrow won't be up to her standards. Mind you, it's never been…"

"Thanks for the exposé, Ginny," Ron rolled his eyes. But he couldn't keep a smile from appearing on his face.

"Yeah kiddo," Bill's voice boomed through the kitchen door. "I thought you were warming up to her."

"Of course," I managed to say with a straight face. Really, I am!

"So, who is going to watch your boyfriend play?" His smile started to get a bit evil. "Hey…shouldn't it be time for him to ask you to marry him? I would have thought you'd woven your webs by now so he wouldn't be able to escape even if he wanted to! Wasn't that the plan from the beginning?"

I refused to lower myself to his level…so…I stuck my tongue out at him, causing Bill, Ron and Hermione to burst out in laughter.

"Very mature, Ginny!" Ron roared. "I should tell Harry that!"

Bill turned to Ron, still smirking, "Isn't Krum playing against Harry? Should be an interesting match then…"

Ron's face fell so quickly, it was funny to watch. "_I want to watch Harry play!_" he said in a very Hermione-like voice, looking at her. "Bloody hell you want to! Your _boyfriend_ is playing!"

Hermione had turned very red, but managed to keep her cool as she held her hand up and showed the wedding band that was shining on her finger.

"Oh…" It was Ron's turn to flush red. "Right…so…Phle…I mean, Fleur won't be coming then. Neither will Mum, Dad, Percy and Penelope. Charlie's still up in Bul…er…Romania, right?"

Ron is very funny when he's flustered.

"Wrote me this morning to ask whether his _lovechild_ had arrived yet," Bill muttered darkly, answering Ron's previous question.

I burst out laughing and patted Bill's arm while sniggering, "I'd rather have a web woven around my boyfriend than a wife-stealing brother."

"Shut it, kiddo!" Bill growled.

"Easy with the wolf-habits!" I smiled happily. "So, are you coming or are you watching over your wife?"

"With her cleaning every part of the house like she does?" Bill shivered in horror. "I swear she was looking at my ponytail, trying to figure out how to cut it off best!" He poured himself a cup of coffee. "No, I'm definitely attending the game."

"Good," Hermione nodded. "Angelina got her and Fred tickets, and Remus and Tonks will be joining us." She folded the piece of parchment contently and then looked at me with a knowing smile. "You know you can tell us everything, right?"

"Er…yes?" I said, not really knowing where this was going.

"Just like old times," she smiled. "We _are_ friends, aren't we?"

Next to me, Bill was asking Ron in hushed tones what on earth was going on and I was dying to find out the exact same thing.

"Of course we're friends!" I exclaimed. I did tell her about all my boyfriends, didn't I? No embarrassing stories to tell in front of my brothers, right?

"I mean, you were my Maid of Honour…it is only natural for you to return the favour…" she looked back at us three. I for one was sure that Bill and Ron were looking at her with the same kind of shocked looks as me on their faces. Even though Bill had brought it up just before…

"What?" Hermione shrugged. "Oh come on! We all know Harry and Ginny are going to marry! No need to look so shocked."

I was the first to come out of my stupor. "Let him propose first, alright? Then we'll talk."

"Or not at all," Bill growled.

"Wolf," I muttered.

* * *

Tammy won against Ireland, placing herself (well, technically speaking, the Dutch team) in the semi-finals. If Harry won too, the next game would be between the two of them. And although I was looking forward to seeing them both play again, I wasn't certain who I would be rooting for…

And suddenly, Hermione and Ron were knocking on my front door to pick me up to go to Harry's match. Mum had refrained from going to see Auntie Muriel in order to stay with Fleur, who was starting to get really anxious about the fact that her husband would be attending a game and her own mother wouldn't arrive for another day.

Bill called it her 'spoiled brat'-mood. Mum tutted and went to her oldest daughter-in-law.

"Excited?" Bill asked as Ron, Hermione and I met up with him at the stadium.

"Nervous," I sighed. "Which is the most ridiculous thing seeing how it's Harry who's up in the air and I have both my legs on firm and solid ground. Even more so, I know what it's like to be up in the air! I know it's the most marvellous feeling in the world and I know that Harry is more than able to stay in the air right until the Snitch shows itself and win the game." I took a deep breath. "I'm babbling, aren't I?"

"Ruddy hell, yes!" Ron muttered, earning a glare from Hermione. "Oh you're just here to watch _Vicky_ play!" he teased her.

"Well, he _is_ ruggedly handsome," she smiled back innocently. Ron was gaping at her like a fish and it was most fortunate that Tonks and Remus arrived at that moment.

"What's with Mr Goldfish over here?" Tonks asked me almost inaudibly.

"He sometimes forgets he's married to Hermione," I whispered back.

"You see," she answered with a knowing smile, "That's why I say 'no' every time Remus asks me to marry him."

"He's asked you?" I exclaimed.

"No!" she replied indignantly. "He knows what's good for him."

I burst out laughing and followed Remus and Bill inside. The tickets Harry had gotten us were not all V.I.P. (we wanted eight tickets…not even the boy who lived can get away with getting eight V.I.P.-tickets). So four of us would be seated in the V.I.P.-lounge and four of us in the _normal_ top box (I don't really get the difference, as they're practically next to each other and both shielded from the press…but anyway…). And no matter how many times I told them I wouldn't mind giving up the V.I.P.-seats, they insisted that I should be in the -lounge as I was Harry's girlfriend. When I'd still refused, Bill had grabbed the tickets, sent two top-box tickets to George and two to Remus. Then he'd smiled at me and told me that I didn't have a choice.

And that was why almost at the top, Remus and Tonks took another flight of stairs to the top-box while Ron, Hermione, Bill and I entered the V.I.P.-lounge.

"I still hate you," I muttered to Bill.

"What's new, kiddo," he smiled. I saw Katie behind him with Catriona McCormack and waved to her. She smiled back.

"You really belong in this world, don't you?" Bill asked as he noticed our interaction.

"That's Katie Bell," I explained. "Old fellow-Chaser? She's Wood's girlfriend now."

"Katie as in 'I wish I could be only half as good as Katie'-Katie?" Bill said incredulously. "I would've thought she'd be on the field at the very least!"

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I remembered how I'd been going on and on in fourth year about how wonderful it would've been to play Chaser instead of Seeker, and how that would never happen, as I couldn't even be close to good enough as Angelina, Alicia and Katie.

Bill merely smirked and sat down on his designated seat.

"It is clear that England has come much farther than eight years ago," the very familiar voice of the commentator sounded through the stadium. "England had been slaughtered then while Bulgaria had managed to get into the finals."

"Didn't they lose even though Krum caught the Snitch, Dean?" another male voice said.

"Yes, not many saw that coming," Dean answered. "But that is not the most interesting part of this game. No, it will be to see how Krum and Potter will fly against each other."

"Ah yes, two of the most famous Seekers in the world!"

"I reckon it's safe to say, _the_ most famous Seekers in the world, Jake. Krum was eighteen during those finals; Potter has only failed to retrieve the Snitch once, at Hogwarts. Both have impeccable records…it will be exciting enough to see…ah…here they come!"

"That's the Bulgarian team, folks! Please cheer for Dimitrov, Ivanova, Kabaivanskova, Volkov, Vulkanov, Todorov and, of course, Krum!"

"Isn't Kabaivanskova new on the team as Keeper?"

"She is indeed. And she's already proven that she wasn't chosen just because she looked like a Veela."

Immediately, many heads shot up to the woman flying towards the goal-hoops.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed next to me. I heard Bill snigger as I tried to keep a chuckle in.

"Speaking of Veelas," Dean continued. "Aren't mascots forbidden this year?"

"Oh yes! They don't want a repeat of the last two world cups…and here comes England!"

A loud roar erupted from the stands and Dean's voice was barely audible as he called the names, "Norwood, Parish, Cobley, Trista Hodges, Deforest, Wood and Potter! Look at him fly!"

Harry made a steep dive, which caused my hand to fly to my mouth in shock.

"Merlin," Bill muttered, "he can fly!"

"McCormack still hasn't recovered, then?" Jake said.

"No, but don't let Wood fool you," Dean answered with cheekiness in his voice. "He'll play half-dead if they would let him."

And although it was very faint, I swore I could hear Jake say, "I can imagine."

* * *

"I can't look," Hermione hid her face in her hands as both Harry and Krum dove downwards. I was not sure who was following whom, just like I wasn't really sure why they were doing it as the Snitch was floating lazily at the other end of the pitch.

Then, at the last moment possible, Krum raised his handle and went back up…closely followed by Harry. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding when I saw Harry grinning at Krum.

"Oh sod him!" I exclaimed furiously. Seriously, he thought that was _funny_?

"Are they done yet?" Hermione asked, her face still in her hands. Ron gently took them away, pressing a kiss on her forehead and causing me to roll my eyes. And of course, Bill just had to see that.

"Aw…is Ginnykins missing her Harry-poo?" he teased me.

"Does Billypilly want to leave his unborn child fatherless?" I retorted. I knew how to play this game…I invented this game!

"You really should see someone about those violent thoughts," Bill smirked.

"At least I'm not part-wolf," I hissed.

"Says the girl that controlled a Basilisk when she was _eleven_."

"That's low."

"It's the truth."

"You married a part-bird."

"You…bugger!"

I smirked and turned my attention back to the game where the score was still seventy to ninety for England. Why did Harry do that stupid Wronski Feint instead of going after the Snitch?

"Hey Gin," Bill nudged me after another fifteen minutes of Quaffle-tossing and Harry and Krum showing off their flying skills.

"Hmm?" I answered, my eyes not leaving the pitch…wasn't that something gold?

"I was wondering…"

But I didn't listen. That _was_ the Snitch, and Harry and Krum were fast on its tail.

"Hurry Harry!" I yelled, knowing fully well that my words wouldn't reach him, but not really caring whatsoever. Around me, everyone was cheering him along. Krum gained some distance on Harry and was even coming closer to the Snitch.

"Come on, Harry!" Ron yelled next to me and even Hermione was shouting out different kinds of cries, all intended to help Harry along.

Up in the air, Harry bent a little lower and kept his place next to Krum. Both stretched their hands out, all the while trying to knock the other one off their brooms. And then the Snitch disappeared.

"Where is it?" Ron asked, looking all over.

With a triumphant grin, Harry showed the Snitch in his outstretched hand. Krum immediately offered his hand to congratulate him, which Harry gladly took. Then Harry turned around, caught my eyes with his own, bounced towards me, pulled me out of the stands, onto his broom and kissed me hard. Well…that should tell the few people who'd been living under a rock up until now that we were dating!

"Marry me," he laughed as he pulled away, "Marry me, Gin."

"Yes, of course," I said without actually realizing what I'd just been agreeing to. Wait…I looked at him, "You…what…YES!"

He beamed at me, bent down to kiss me once again and stopped, as he seemed to realize something. "Could we maybe _not_ tell your family? At least for a while?"

Well bugger all! "You don't have a ring," I stated smugly.

Merlin! He's cute when he blushes. "Sorry…"

"You're silly, Harry," I smiled, yet still rolling my eyes at his uncertainty. "I don't _care_ about a ring! Well, scrap that. I _do_ care about one. A very nice one, actually. But it's not the ring I'm marrying…it's you, Mr 'I-vanquished-Voldemort-but-I'm-too-afraid-of-what-my-girlfriend's-family-might-do-to-me-to-admit-I-didn't-plan-on-asking-her-hand-in-marriage'!"

He grinned and landed us perfectly safely on the ground.

"Don't you dare change your mind on me, Harry Potter," I whispered as I cupped his cheek with my hand, " 'Cause I love you too much as it is."

He kissed me, grinning even more broadly. The rest of the team was approaching us, together with Remus, Ron, Hermione, George and…Tammy? Were they holding hands?!? No…

My mouth dropped a few yards and Harry very kindly closed it for me. Suddenly, all those vague explanations from both George and Tammy clicked into place…I looked at Harry, "You don't know anything about Tammy and George, do you?"

He looked at them. "They _do_ look cozy…"

"Good match, Harry," Remus smiled proudly.

"Thanks," Harry said. He was still beaming, but that could also be because of the match. I, on the other hand, should wipe that ridiculous grin off my face before Hermione started looking at me more suspiciously than she already was. Oh bugger, she was elbowing Tonks…

"Well, hate to break up the party…" Ron started…

"Oh, honestly!" Hermione interrupted him, "We _can_ wait a minute to congratulate him!" Why, why, why were they fighting? I had to say I was glad that Ron distracted Hermione enough for me to regain my composure…or whatever it was that I'd lost once Harry asked me to marry him.

Bugger! Stupid grin…

I turned to George and Tammy. "Besides the fact that you two are holding hands, what's going on? And where's Bill? He was still here when Harry pulled me onto his broom."

"Yes, well," George smirked, "He was kind of eager to be with his wife."

Tammy slapped him softly on his arm and turned to Harry and me. "Fleur's at St. Mungo's. She's having the baby."

* * *

**A/N: **I just want to share my beta's reaction: "Squeal! I loooved the way Harry proposed!"

I just nod and grin stupidly in total agreement.


	28. We turned out alright

**A/N:** This. Is. It.

The last chapter.

After this it's the end, no sequel...only one-shots. At least until DH comes out. After that...not even I know what will happen. I'm not J.K. Rowling, you know? I do not live in the UK and I do not own anything you recognize.

So, now that we have all this covered, I give you...the final chapter:

* * *

We turned out alright

The first time I ever went to St. Mungo's was when I was about four or five years old. Ron and I had gotten into this huge fight about the Chudley Cannons and the Holyhead Harpies and which team was the better one…we haven't changed that much, have we? Anyway, after years of begging, Mum had finally allowed us to listen to one of their matches on the Wireless and it resulted in Ron and me fighting until Ron managed to knock me out flat. Mum wasn't sure whether she should be happy or not since it was his first bit of magic…this feeling only magnified once she heard an ear-splitting shriek coming from my room (Ron reckons his ears have never been the same again). She immediately ran inside, only to find Ron hanging over me as I kept on screaming.

Mum started to tell Ron off for scaring me again when I should be resting, but I wasn't listening to them as the different people in the ward started to entrance me. Next to me was a young man who looked as if he wanted to puke his brains out with every breath he took. A Healer sat by his bed with a bucket, trying to distract him with funny stories. It may have grossed most people out, but I thought it was marvellous! To help people like that…it was _that_ moment that made me decide to become a Healer, even if it would kill me.

Little did I know how true that would be. Healing didn't come at all naturally to me like it did to oh…let's say…Hermione? I had to stay up all night to study for the Charms test Flitwick set us. I did all I could do to make Snape pass me (a feat only few Gryffindors had managed). This was difficult enough as it was, but then there was that ruddy maze Harry had to enter. And that bloody Polyjuice-Moody! Both leaving me to have a nervous breakdown…

And even though the reasons weren't all that pleasant (Lord 'let's-ruin-Ginny's-life-as-much-as-possible' Voldemort had to attack my dad), I got to go back to St Mungo's for the first time since Voldemort's return. I remember feeling so useless at Grimmauld Place. I wanted to help, to do something…I was going to be a sodding Healer for crying out loud! All that studying had to be good for _something_! When I confided all this to Hermione, her eyes grew wide and she started about the knowledge I'd gained from studying and how this enhanced my view on the world. You know, knowledge for knowledge's sake and that kind of dragon dung? I just knew she'd gone barmy right there and then.

Still, I also remember sitting around Dad's bed as he told us about something that sounded like 'Snitches'…some Muggle thing that had absolutely nothing to do with Quidditch and everything to do with sewing your skin back together. I remember Mum being furious (which was stupid, since she should know by now that Dad doesn't really value his life when it comes to Muggles)…I remember thinking that despite the fact that it was Voldemort who'd done this to _my father_ and that there should be tons of better ways to fix somebody up instead of sewing skin back together, it would be wonderful to be able to help somebody like that.

The next time I went to St. Mungo's was on my last day at Hogwarts, when Harry had vanquished Voldemort. Well, Voldemort had been dead for quite some time, but I wasn't really allowed to leave Hogwarts as it would be (and I quote) '_too dangerous with all those Death Eaters on the loose, who still want revenge_'. The fact that I'd sneaked out to join the fight might have triggered this reaction, but still…you've got to love your mum. To say I was furious with her was an understatement…Charlie, Fred and Harry were in the hospital, being ill and injured and whatnot. Tonks was hovering on that thin line between life and death (in the hospital wing at Hogwarts…but I also wasn't allowed to enter that). And in between all this, I had to stay put! Because some crazy old Lucius-wannabe might not believe his _Lord_ was really gone!

When I finally…_finally_…got there (I flooed as soon as I was allowed to leave the castle), Charlie was flirting with one of the Trainee Healers, Fred seemed to have a row with Angelina (apparently, they were in one of their off-phases of their relationship, which is a miracle as they hadn't seen much of each other since their last break-up) and Harry was…well, being Harry. He brooded a little, but smiled when somebody he cared about entered the room. And then the rest of the patients…I gained so much respect for all the healers present that day because I had to keep myself from running away sick. Which was quite a feat on its own, because I'd never really gotten sick of anything since I'd been possessed by Tom Riddle in my first year.

Around me, Healers, Trainee Healers and mediwizards and –witches were bustling around, taking care of Aurors, Hit Wizards and every other witch or wizard working for the Magical Law Enforcement Squad at the time of the battle. I thought it was terrible that even after a few weeks, witches and wizards were still showing up with terrible injuries. Some were being released, but most of them had to stay admitted. It was awful…there were hardly any rooms left, so the mediwizards Conjured beds everywhere. I actually stumbled over a few while rushing to the Wards where my family would be.

As I nearly got to my family's room, I saw a little girl sitting on a chair. She looked as overwhelmed as I was at my first visit, so I went over to her and asked her if she was okay.

"When I'm big, I'll become a Healer," she smiled proudly.

I smiled back. "Where are your mum and dad? Do you want me to get them?"

She bowed her head, "They've gone away," she said softly and a little sad. "They had to help the big snake man and didn't come back. But they told me that I could live with Auntie Merla. She's my favourite Auntie, you know!"

I felt as if a rock had hit me. We always thought we were fighting on the good side. But what if the people on the other side were fighting for what they thought was right? I smiled at the girl and asked her if her Aunt would be here soon. She nodded eagerly and began to ramble about how wonderful it would be to be able to help people get better. And with every passing word she reminded me more and more of myself.

Her Aunt came back and apologized profusely for the little girl's behaviour. I simply smiled and continued with my search of my family. It was then that it occurred to me that I would have to help people that I didn't want to help. And I didn't think I could work up the courage (however much of a Gryffindor I might be) to find a cure for people like the Malfoys.

The first time I went to St Mungo's after the wizarding community had healed their war wounds, was this time. And as I sat in the waiting room with my family, I was reminded of my other times in St Mungo's and how much they differed from each other. When I was little, there had been no problems in the world, except for finding out how to bug Ron the most. When Dad had been admitted, I felt more scared than ever. When half my family had lain here, injured from the war, I had been shocked by a talk I'd had with a six-year-old. And right now everything and everybody was happy. I had seen so many bad things come through here that I could hardly believe that something good could happen in this hospital. Still, had that not been my first reason ever to apply for a Healing position?

"Knut for your thoughts?" Charlie let himself fall down in the seat next to me. He'd Apparated over as soon as he got the Floo-call from Mum.

"What made you give up flying and become a dragon-whatever-you-are?" I asked, still deep in thought.

He thought for a minute until he slowly opened his mouth and answered, "I love dragons too much. They are magnificent creatures…a bit rough and dangerous at times, but so powerful and beautiful as well. Everyone expected me to sign up for England after Hogwarts. I wanted to show them I could do more." He started to grin. "And I may have spent too much time with Hagrid during my Hogwarts years."

I smiled back. "I gave _this_," I made a gesture to the rest of the hospital, "up to play Quidditch. I've wanted to be a Healer ever since I went here the first time."

Charlie snorted, "Oh yeah…I remember the letter Mum wrote Bill and me to ask for an explanation for Ron's unbelievably rude attitude towards you."

"Yes. And in less than a month I totally gave up on becoming a Healer, just because I would have to attend classes in the same building as Harry and I wanted to avoid him at all costs!"

Charlie looked at me incredulously. "You didn't!"

I giggled. "Bit stupid, isn't it?" Especially since I would be marrying him…

"I remember when you first wrote me that you were going to play with the Harpies. I reread the letter a few times, tried every charm and spell I could think of to see if it was a hoax from the twins until I realized that it had to be the truth. Only, it couldn't be, because you never played Quidditch. You were the _girl_. But you were…and Percy had accepted it and was encouraging you! So Bill and I had to come to your first game and what we saw there…Merlin…you really can fly. I dunno if it's from watching Harry all these…"

"Hey!" I interrupted him indignantly.

"…or if it is from being born into the Weasley family, because, let's face it, Fred, George, Ron and I play Quidditch fairly well. But when I saw you flying, I had no doubts that you made the right choice. I mean, I remember the owls you sent me when you had to sit your N.E.W.T.s…although I was glad that I wasn't the only one that took Care of Magical Creatures at N.E.W.T. level."

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "You don't reckon I made a stupid decision?" For some reason I was feeling uncertain about my decision.

"I'm absolutely certain you made the decision for the wrong reasons," Charlie laughed. "Honestly! To avoid _Harry_? Quidditch? I could have told you ages ago that you shouldn't have taken up Quidditch if you wanted to _avoid_ him!" He patted my thigh. "But no-one would ever doubt you once they see you fly. Even though you're a temporary Seeker right now."

I smiled at him. "So…no new girlfriend yet?" I asked after a while. We only had these rare moments to catch up with what was going on in our lives. Family gatherings were fun and everything, but everybody wanted to catch up with everyone. I usually was the one to disappear the first, waiting to be found by one of my brothers. When I was little, they would play with me. When we got older, these moments came less and less often with Bill being in Egypt and Charlie in Romania. So, the few moments that we did get, we used to collect as much new information on the other as possible…unfortunately for me this mostly meant that they wanted to know who I was dating so they could kick some sense into him. Literally.

Charlie sighed dramatically. "Alas…the love of my life is in one of those rooms, giving birth to the child of my brother."

"And they say the twins are bad…" I shook my head.

"Well, yes!" Charlie nodded fervently. "Look at them!" He waved his hand in the direction of the twins, who were currently engaged in explaining the finer details of what looked like a transformed fake wand to a little boy that had escaped his sleeping grandmother. Although, knowing the twins, you could never be certain.

"His parents will never have another quiet day again," Charlie continued exasperatedly.

"He'll turn out alright," I smiled. "We all did."

And for some reason that made Charlie laugh so hard, Mum came running inside to ask what was wrong. She didn't actually believe us when we said 'nothing', but she didn't ask any more questions either.

* * *

"Ginny? Are you awake?" Mum's voice woke me up. 

"No, Mum," I muttered groggily as I tried to pry myself from Harry's lap which had acted as a very nice pillow for my head. "So…everything alright?" I yawned. Next to me, Harry started to wake up too.

"It's a boy," Mum beamed and I immediately felt my heart sink. Fleur had been hoping so much for a girl, and although I haven't been the most supportive sister-in-law lately (or well…ever might be more accurate), I didn't _really_ expect to be right. "You two should go in now. I'll wake the rest to send them up too later so she can still get her rest."

"Okay," I croaked and I pulled Harry with me. Without being really awake, we took the stairs, walked through the corridor and entered Fleur's room to walk into the most adorable picture I'd ever seen. Bill and Fleur were hanging over a little bundle, smiling at each other.

"Hullo," I yawned again.

"Meet _Gabrielle_," Fleur beamed.

"I beg your pardon?" I said automatically. Mum told me it was a boy, right? I mean…I didn't miss something, did I?

"Gabriel, Ginny," Bill said calmly, pronouncing the name the English way. I only grinned sheepishly in answer. "He's got ten fingers," Bill added happily.

"Zhey know," Fleur smiled, pulling Gabriel's blanket a little higher to cover the chill that had gone over his little body.

"And ten toes," Bill continued.

"Zhat too."

"And cute little hairs."

"Bill…"

"You'll be his godparents, won't you?"

"Ah!" Fleur smiled, "Zhat not."

But I only gaped at my brother. "What? Why?"

"You're my favourite sister?"

"I'm your only sister!"

"Doesn't make you any less of a favourite."

"We'll be honoured," Harry said before I could open my mouth again. But he hadn't counted on that thing brothers and sisters share; that thing called _memories_…

"But I'm _not_ telling Charlie," I smirked.

Bill blanched as he remembered what I was talking about…

It must have been just before Bill's second or third year at Hogwarts, as Charlie didn't attend it yet, when we got invited to the wedding of one of our something-much cousins something removed, to which Dad had been asked to be one of the groomsmen. Of course, Ron and I had no idea what that could be, so we asked Dad about it. And of course, Bill and Charlie wanted to show that they were older and _did_ know stuff, and answered before we had even finished our questions.

"It's the best friend of the groom," Charlie piped up.

"That's the best man," Bill corrected. "A groomsman is one of his other friends. It's a big honour to be that person for someone."

"I wanna be your besht man, Bill," I said from the other end of the table.

You can imagine my shock when six…well, five, Ron was eating…older brothers started to laugh really hard.

"You can't!" Fred laughed.

"Yeah, you're a _girl_!" George continued.

"Ginny don't bloody care!" I exclaimed. Three years old, remember? "Ginny is Bill's besht man!"

"Oy!" Bill said, acting as the oldest one for once, "No swearing. And you can't."

"Why not?" I asked stubbornly.

"Because I already am," Percy had answered. He had been really close with Bill and Charlie when growing up…something to do with the age difference and the next set of brothers being twins. Oh, and Bill actually was a bookworm too, although he will never admit that.

The next moment, Charlie was glaring at Percy. "Then I will be the godfather of his first child."

It was more than obvious that Bill had forgotten that at that particular moment in time, he had nodded fervently in agreement.

But now he said, "I didn't make Percy my best man."

"You weren't talking to Percy when you got married," I stated, "And you preferred Mark-from-Gringotts."

"That's not his name," Bill said automatically. "And Charlie won't have any problems with it."

I snorted. If I remember correctly, Charlie had been spending the very little time he was in England either hitting on Fleur or talking to her belly and telling his goddaughter what they would be doing together when she finally would be out of there.

So I smirked, seeing Charlie running towards us through the glass of the door. "Then you obviously won't mind telling him."

"Where's my godson!" Charlie panted as he ran into the room.

Harry gave me a confused look, but didn't say anything. He'd learned long ago that when being around my family, questions sometimes had to wait.

"About that…" Bill started awkwardly.

"You promised!" Charlie exclaimed.

"I was thirteen!" Bill cried back.

"Boys!" Mum came running in…but it was no good. Bill and Charlie were sending arguments back and forth and even though she was doing her best to make them stop, it only seemed to get worse.

Fleur caught my eyes and smiled for a little bit, mouthing a 'congratulations' with a nod to Harry. Figures it would be her who found out first… Then she moved her head over her son as to protect him from the two fighting men.

Harry's hand found mine and that simple gesture made me look up at him. He smiled as if he knew what I was thinking about.

Life couldn't be more perfect.

_The End_

* * *

**A/N:** I thank you all for sticking with me on this story. Your reviews have been wonderfull and some made me laugh so hard that people around me started asking me if I felt alright. 

And I want to thank KD for being my beta and telling me whenever something just wasn't working.

Really, thanks!


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